The Soulmate Principle: Black At Heart
by HCMONSTER93
Summary: Artemis Williams knows she's different, even for a witch. Growing up in a family that was never really hers, she's surrounded by people who will never understand her. But when Sirius Black escapes from the wizarding prison Azkaban, she finds a strange new bond with a friend she never really wanted and it sets off a chain of events that changes her life forever.
1. Prologue

Night had fallen outside, and still, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. A full-moon hung overhead on a blanket of midnight blue, glowing ominously beside millions of twinkling stars. The mid-November air was cold and harsh, and stood watching my new Husky puppy, Snow, bound around the garden excitedly, I had to wrap my cardigan tighter around my body to stop myself shivering.

Something was going on. Something was wrong. It was like I could feel it in my bones.

"Mia?"

I glanced over my shoulder and smiled as best as I could as my husband, Luke, moved through the kitchen toward me. His hazel eyes scanned my expression in concern, and his mouse brown hair was neatly combed back from his day at work. Smiling back at me, he wrapped his arms around me tightly and held me against his tall, lean body. "Everything okay?" he asked, kissing my forehead softly.

"Of course," I replied, and as always when I lied, my voice gave a tell-tale pitch upwards at the end.

He leant back to look at me and lifted an eyebrow, his expression growing a fraction more serious. "Mia," he started, and I sighed. He had every reason to be worried. It was only understandable in times like these, when no one trusted anyone else and we lived in constant fear of what was to come.

"It's nothing serious," I replied with a small shrug, trying and failing to calm him down. "I just can't shake the feeling that something is wrong."

He frowned down at me for a moment, then sighed heavily and pulled me closer. "It's only natural, Mia," he told me, in his usual, patronising tone I rarely complained about. "The _Prophet _might be telling everyone that things are getting better, but they're worse than ever. The law enforcement department at the Ministry is working overtime, and even the Auror department is starting to run into trouble."

"Really?" I blinked, my chest constricting. There was a time not so long ago when the Auror department hardly ever ran into problems. In some of the darkest times we could remember, they alone gave people hope. Then Selena Black, the Head Auror, disappeared and despite the department launching a full scale search for her, no one had seen or heard anything about her since.

As if he knew what I was thinking, Luke frowned and took a step back. "It's got nothing to do with that woman, Mia. Things are just getting worse, that's all."

"_That_ woman?" I breathed in shock. "How can you say that? You _knew_ her, Luke!"

"Knew," he mumbled with a frown. "Past tense. We haven't seen her since she left Hogwarts, and there are reasons, Mia. The woman was dangerous."

I gulped hard, opening my mouth to reply, but someone suddenly hammered loudly on the door.

Luke immediately went rigid, but I took a deep breath and moved to answer it, snatching my wand off the kitchen counter as I went. Stowing it up the sleeve of my cardigan discreetly, I hurried through the living room and back to the front door. Hesitating only a second, I pulled it open and gasped when I saw who was outside.

"We need to talk," Sirius Black said shakily, stepping into my house and clutching a bundle of blankets against his chest tightly. "Quickly. We don't have much time."


	2. One: Twelve Years Later

_Twelve Years Later . . ._

I almost sighed wryly as I stepped into my recurring nightmare for the third time tonight. I'd already shaken myself awake twice, a little rattled but otherwise okay. Now though, I couldn't seem to drag myself back.

I was stood in a long, dark chamber, cold shivers running over my bare skin. Normally, it would have unsettled me to look down and see myself stood in a creepy chamber wearing my pyjama shorts and vest t-shirt. Even my feet were bare. I could almost feel the rough, damp, cold stone beneath them, sending unpleasant shudders through my body. But right now, I managed to ignore it all. I was too preoccupied with trying to block visions of what was to come.

As always, my stomach clenched as I caught sight of four figures moving toward me, one a lot taller and broader than the other three. This man was dressed in smart robes that had been ruined on the journey down here, his blonde hair ruffled and his handsome face contorted with fear. Beside him, three children moved with more confidence, each grasping their wands tightly. The first was tall and lanky, with flaming red hair and freckles over his nose. Like the man next to him, his robes were dirty and torn, but it didn't seem to bother him. The wand in his hand had been Sellotaped back together halfway down, and was currently aimed at the adult in an odd switch of power.

The other two children were barely paying attention. The second boy was shorter than the first by a few inches, with the same tatty robes and uniform. Bright green eyes were shielded behind rounded glasses, and jet black hair stuck up in all direction on the top of his head. A thin, red scar shaped like a lightning bolt sat on his forehead, barely visible beneath his fringe. He moved out in front, his own wand tip lit to light the way, hovering over the bones on the floor.

The girl behind him, however, was scowling at her feet, kicking small bones of eaten rats with the tip of her shoes. Mahogany hair curled around her face, most of it hurriedly shoved up into a ponytail and leaving stray strands around her ears. Electric blue eyes were sharp and alert, flicking over everything so quickly it was a miracle she could see anything. She was the shortest of the three by about an inch, twirling her own wand through her fingers expertly.

Running a hand through my own mahogany hair, I watched the memory of myself tramping through the dark chambers anxiously. "You made it out alive," I muttered at her, despite the fact she couldn't hear me. "You all did. Please, just let me sleep!"

She ignored me, nudging the black-haired boy, who happened to be one of my best friends, Harry Potter. "Look," she whispered, pointing straight ahead of them. Harry scowled, shining his wand in the direction she'd indicated. In front of them lay a huge snake skin. Leaving their best friend Ron Weasley in charge of the cowardly Professor Gilderoy Lockhart, they stepped closer to observe the skin.

"Oh god," I groaned, clamping my hands over my eyes. "Just . . . wake up, Arty. Wake up, stop torturing yourself!"

The booming explosion made me stumble back in misplaced surprise, spreading my fingers to see Harry and my memory lay flat out on the floor on the wrong side of a wall of rocks, shielding their heads with their arms.

"Arty?" Harry's groan came. "You okay?"

"Just about," I heard my memory grumble back. "Another year, Potter. I told you last year never again . . ."

He just snorted at her, grimacing and wincing as he pushed himself to his feet and dusted himself off, holding his hand out to help her up. "Yeah, and look how that turned out." I watched her shoot him a dark look, ignoring his hand and jumping to her feet with exaggerated energy. Harry glowered, but said nothing to her and he turned back to the wall of rocks. Rather childishly, she pulled her tongue out behind his back, snatching her wand off the floor angrily.

I won't lie. I knew my friendship with Harry was somewhat strained. Despite the fact that we agreed on nearly everything and saw things almost exactly the same way, he irritated me. Being around him set me on edge and I could never quite explain it. It was as though something about him was . . . off . . . something was . . . _wrong_, almost.

But watching this now, I felt sick. I wanted to scream at him to run, which made no sense whatsoever. This had happened mere months ago, and I _knew_ we both made it out. So why did this upset me so much?

I was forced to follow them through the chambers, my nerves beginning to get the better of me. My hands twisted together and my teeth sank into my bottom lip as we moved through the dark, still led forward by Harry's wand light. I kept glancing sideways at my memory, watching her grip on her wand grow tighter and her eyebrows pull further together.

Finally, they stopped outside a large, stone circular door, decorated by snakes with glowing green eyes. "Now what?" I heard myself ask irritably.

Harry shot her an impatient look, taking a deep breath and focusing his attention on the snakes. An odd rasping noise rumbled in his throat, and my memory shuddered beside him, clamping a hand over her mouth with a stunned gaze. To this day, I still don't know what freaked me out so much in that moment.

The door swung open and with a smirk in my direction, Harry stepped through, stepping into another chamber where puddles of water clapped loudly beneath his feet. Somewhat reluctantly, he turned and held out a hand to help my memory down. She ignored it with her head held high, jumping down gracefully and brushing the dirt off the bottom of her robes.

"Really?" Harry glowered. She pulled a face, giving him a small push down the stone path and further into the chamber. Moving beside them, my stomach clenched.

"This is it," I muttered, covering my face with my hands. "Oh god . . ."

At the far end of the chamber, a large statue stood towering over a tiny body, lay flat out across the floor, completely unmoving. I watched Harry and myself frown at the shape, shifting closer together cautiously, before a wave of flaming red hair came into view.

"Ginny!" the two of them yelled, immediately breaking into a run. My heart clenched at the sight of the eleven year old Ginny Weasley, and on instinct, I raced straight at them.

Harry had collapsed to his knees in front of her, and my memory had skidded around her figure, throwing herself on the floor and taking Ginny's shoulders gently. Ginny's eyes were closed and her face was pale and cold. My memory pulled her closer, rubbing her arms in a vain attempt to warm her up.

"She's too cold, Harry," she mumbled, her voice breaking.

"No, there has to be a way to help her," Harry persisted, frowning at Ginny's face. He glanced up at my memory, almost willing her to agree with him, but it wasn't her that answered him.

"No, Harry Potter, there isn't."

They spun at the sound of Tom Riddle's voice, and I felt myself sinking to the floor beside Ginny's lifeless body, shaking all over and trying again and again to wake myself up. My heart was hammering in my chest and my arms had wrapped themselves around my legs, pulling my knees up beneath my chin.

"It's alright," I muttered to myself, my eyes shut tightly. "You all survive. Tom Riddle was a memory, Harry destroyed him, and you, him and Ginny got out alive. Stop getting so worked up!"

But no matter what I told myself, I didn't open my eyes. Instead, I'd listened hesitantly to the sound of Riddle and Harry talking, and to my own memories desperate attempts at reviving Ginny. All too soon, the sound of something very heavy and very large grated at my ears, and a small whimper escaped my mouth.

I kept muttering to myself, trying to shift the nausea that was settling in my stomach. In the background, I could hear a bird flapping its wings – Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix. I could hear the Basilisk slithering across the floor, Harry's footsteps, and curses being shouted from both Riddle and myself.

Then it came. The ear-splitting scream.

I didn't want to but my eyes flew open. Only then did I realise the scream was real and I was sat upright in my bed, staring wide-eyed into the darkness of my bedroom. My chest was heaving as I tried to catch my breath, my heart hammering and my hands clenched tightly around my sheets. On the padded bench in the bay window across the room, my Beagle pup, Chester, was yapping loudly, his fur stood on end and his tail between his legs.

Before I had time to collect myself, the door burst open and Luke came in, wand in hand, and his face slightly paled. "What happened?" he asked, a little dazed.

I stared at him, speechless. Luke and his wife Mia had adopted me just after my first birthday, and I'd been living with them ever since. Luke was tall and lean, with ruffled mouse brown hair and glistening hazel eyes that scanned over every inch of the room, searching for something or someone to curse. He was stood in baggy pyjama bottoms and a white polo shirt, his wand lit brightly and held out in front of him.

"Artemis?" he questioned, straightening out as he realised there was no danger. "Are you okay?"

I nodded slowly. "J-Just a dream, I-I'm fine."

He lowered his wand, and took a deep breath. "You sure? Arty, you look terrified."

I nodded again, untangling my legs from my sheets and stumbling to my feet. "Yeah, I'm sure. I'll just go and get a hot chocolate or something. I'll be fine."

Luke gave me a hesitant look, but he sighed and pocketed his wand again. "Alright then. Just shout if you need anything, okay?" I smiled as best as I could, allowing Luke to hug me briefly before he slumped back out of my room, closing the door behind him.

Taking a shaky breath, I sank on the side of my bed again, quivering all over. Chester bound across the room and leapt up onto my lap, whining in his throat and nudging my hand gently. Wrapping the small pup in a comforting hug, I shivered as the nightmare replayed through my head. How many times was I going to have that same nightmare? Watching one of my best friends die over and over again could not be healthy. And it didn't matter that my eyes were never open when it happened anymore. I still knew it was happening. I could still see it.

Trying to shake the nightmare from my mind, I pushed myself to my feet, snatched a loosely knit grey jumper off the end of the bed and pulled it on. Chester jumped into my arms again, snuggling closer as I slipped onto the padded bench by the window, staring out at the back garden with only vague interest. Within seconds, Chester was fast asleep, his nose twitching adorably every now and then. Outside, Snow, Mia's imaginatively named Husky was sniffing around the grass, apparently trying to determine whether any other dog had dared trespass on her territory.

I rolled my eyes wearily as I watched her. For some reason, Snow had been getting incredibly edgy recently. She'd bark in the middle of the night until one of us stumbled down the stairs, where she'd sat at the back door whining. The moment we let her out, she'd run to the end of the garden and bark at the top of her voice for at least ten minutes. We hadn't been very popular with the neighbours for a while. They seemed to think it bothered me that they scowled when I took her out for a walk.

Sighing heavily, I pushed myself up and looked back at the clock. It wasn't even midnight yet, and I doubted I'd be able to get back to sleep again. Without thinking about it, I placed Chester carefully down on the padded bench and jumped to my feet again, shifting toward my wardrobe to change. Yanking on a pair of faded blue jeans beneath my grey jumper, I slipped my feet into my favourite pair of red Converse and scooped my messy mahogany hair back into a ponytail.

I left Chester sleeping in my room, snatching my wand off my bedside table and shoving it into my back pocket. In the bedroom on the far side of the hallway, I could hear Luke and Mia sleeping soundly once again. I crept slowly down the stairs and grabbed Snow's lead from the coat hooks. All I had to do was whistle once and she scrambled to my feet, her tongue hanging out of her mouth and her tail swaying behind her. Smiling, I clipped the lead onto her collar and let myself out of the house.

Immediately, the cold air relaxed my still tense body and for a moment, I simply stood on the porch, breathing deeply. It wasn't until Snow began tugging on the lead that I realised I had to move. Straightening myself out and wrapping my jumper tighter around my body, I started down the road without a clue of where I was heading.

Snow seemed happy enough to trot alongside me while I calmed down though. She sniffed at a few hedges, barked at a few cats, all of which scrambled as far away from her as possible, right up until we walked into my cat. Nyx was only three years old and had been a present from my eldest cousin, Adam, for my eleventh birthday. She was completely black, with only a thin, pearly stripe of white travelling from the centre of her forehead down her nose like a beam of moonlight. When she saw us, she padded gratefully forwards and weaved between my legs, ignoring Snow completely.

It wasn't until we'd been walking for a while that I realised where I was heading. I came to an abrupt halt at the end of the street, staring straight ahead at a small park. Most of it was covered in green grass, apart from a small patch in the centre where a children's play area sat. At the moment, a figure was slumped into one of the swings, kicking the dirt beneath their feet moodily.

It might have worried me – at quarter to midnight – if I hadn't recognised him immediately. I glanced at Snow, who had seen the figure too and was already straining on her lead, her tail wagging furiously, and Nyx, who had leapt onto a nearby wall and curled up, as though realising I'd be here for a while.

I sighed heavily, rolling my eyes. "Here goes nothing," I mumbled down at Snow, who just whined in response and tugged on her lead again.

Pursing my lips, I crossed the road and pushed the gate to the park open, automatically unclipping Snow's lead. Immediately, she bolted toward the swings, barking once. The figure jumped, but calmed almost instantly and knelt down to pet Snow as she skidded to a halt in front of him.

"Sorry about that," I grimaced as Harry Potter glanced up at me. As always, my muscles tensed, like they were preparing to make me run away. The unsettled feeling he continuingly gave me seemed to have doubled in strength, and I shifted, subconsciously taking a step back.

"It's fine," he assured me carefully, eyeing my cautious stance. "How come you're up this late, anyway?"

I hesitated, staring at him with a large lump in my throat. For a split second, I wanted to come clean with him, a feeling I had never had around Harry before. Then I realised I couldn't exactly explain that the nightmare keeping me up every night was about his death. I was pretty sure that would just freak him out.

Instead, I shrugged a shoulder and tore my eyes away from his face. "Couldn't sleep. Snow keeps barking." As if on cue, the dog gave a proud, sharp bark, licking Harry's hand as her tail dragged across the floor. "What about you?"

He shuddered with an irritated expression. "My Uncle Vernon announced his sister's coming to stay tomorrow."

"And that's keeping you up?" I frowned with a sarcastic snort, slipping into the swing beside him and watching Snow plodded across the park, sniffing the grass every now and then. "Here was me thinking you'd faced Voldemort three times already."

Harry scoffed, laughing sourly. "Trust me, I'd go back down into the Chamber of Secrets any day."

I flinched before I could stop myself, and his dark laugh cut off abruptly. I could feel his eyes burning through the side of my head, but I shook myself and hurriedly changed the subject. "Will and Evie are coming over tomorrow," I told him. "I finally convinced them to go to the Muggle cinema with me. You're welcome to join us, if you want?"

Harry stared, still frowning. Will and Evie were two of my older cousins – Mia's older sister Suzie's kids – and attended Hogwarts in the year above me. While they were twins, Will had been Sorted into Ravenclaw, and Evie into Gryffindor. They got on well enough with Harry, Ron and Hermione, even if Will did think it was Harry's fault I was so often in danger.

"It's fine," he dismissed. "I won't be able to get away from them all for any period of time anyway."

"You sure?" I grimaced. "Adam's taking us, and he'll scare the hell of them if you need him to. I think he misses messing with the Slytherins at Hogwarts." Adam was my eldest cousin – Mia's older brother Dexter's eldest son – and had left Hogwarts just as Harry and I had finished our first year. His younger brother, Liam, was in the same year as Will and Evie, while his sister Sarah was in my year, and even shared a dormitory with me in the Gryffindor Tower.

Harry smirked slightly. "He did do that _a lot._ Remind me how he ended up Head Boy again?" I laughed, shrugging. "But I'd rather he didn't go near the Dursleys. If I manage to keep my head down for the rest of the week, I convinced Uncle Vernon to sign the letter for Hogsmeade."

I groaned out loud as I remembered the argument I had had with Luke and Mia about the same letter. "At least you convinced him to sign it. Luke and Mia are refusing point blank. The last time I argued with them about it, Mia actually started crying. Then Rosie woke up and raised the roof with her crying."

"She _cried?"_ Harry blinked. "Why? What's wrong with Hogsmeade?"

"It isn't the _place_ so much as the _people,_" I sighed. Harry stared at me. "They're paranoid. They think I attract madmen, and apparently when I told them that was just you, it didn't cheer them up any."

He rolled his eyes at me. "Nice going, Arty. Any madman in particular?"

"Sirius Black."

Harry's eyes widened. "Sirius Black? As in, the guy that was on the Muggle news?"

I nodded, swinging carefully. "Yeah, Fudge had to warn the Muggle Prime Minister because they think he's so dangerous."

"What did he do?" he breathed, still wide eyed.

"Blew up thirteen Muggles with a single curse," I answered with a frown. "He's just broken out of Azkaban, and no one knows how. It's not supposed to be possible, but he did it. And he was in a high security cell and everything."

"And they don't know where he is? Where he's going?" he stared.

"Not that I've heard," I shrugged, shivering as the cold air hit my skin. "Which reminds me, I really need to be getting back. If Luke knew I was out this late at night, he might actually fix a padlock to my bedroom door. Snow!" The Husky barked once and raced toward us as I jumped to my feet. The problem came when she got a little too excited and skidded into my feet. With a yelp, I felt my feet slid backwards and without thinking, Harry leapt up and caught my hand.

Inexplicable pain suddenly exploded straight across my palm, and looking at the way Harry's face was contorted, the feeling was mutual. We snatched our hands apart and staggered back a few steps, but as I collapsed to my knees, the pain didn't subside. Shots of burning agony raced up my arm, bringing tears to my eyes. Snow was still barking by my side, but now she wasn't excited; her tail was between her legs and her ears were flat against her head.

"Artemis?" Harry started breathlessly, his hands clamped together and his face still tight with pain. "Artemis, look at me." He sounded panicked, but as he took a step closer, I gasped and pushed myself away. Snow barked at him angrily, lying flat at my side.

"W-What the hell?" I gulped, staring at my arm. My left forearm was bright red, almost sunburnt, and still tingling painfully. But that wasn't what worried me. What worried me most was the scar carved into my skin. It was almost like a tattoo, running from my wrist to the fold of my elbow, drawn in brilliant green ink that curled and twisted elegantly. The sight was scarily beautiful.

I tore my terrified gaze away from it, gawping up at Harry. He was stood in front of me, pale and worried, but his sleeve was rolled up around his elbow. An identical tattoo was drawn into his arm, only this time in electric blue.

"Artemis," he started carefully, taking a step closer.

"Don't!" I snapped, scrambling to my feet and snatching up Snow's lead. Harry went rigid. I opened my mouth to say something else, but my voice caught on my throat and I wheeled around, bolting straight toward the gate with Snow at my heels.


	3. Two: Birthday Wishes

I didn't sleep at all that night. Mia and Luke hadn't even realised I'd been out, Chester was still sleeping, and Rosie – Luke and Mia's eighteenth month old daughter – was sat in her cot, her wide hazel eyes watching me as I snuck back in.

"Hey, Rosie," I breathed, smiling shakily as I hurriedly covered my arm up. She giggled from where she was sat, holding her arms out toward me. "You want a hug, sweetie?" Stepping through the door, I moved toward her cot and hauled her into my arms, holding her close. Immediately, she buried her face in my hair as she always did, curling her tiny hands into the mass of mahogany curls.

In the end, I sat in the chair in the corner of the room with her on my lap, telling her everything. Of course, she didn't understand a word I was saying, but that was half the point. I'd found since I'd got back from Hogwarts, I was doing it a lot. She was a great listener. So long as I was braiding her blonde hair, or bouncing her on my knee, she was happy.

At some point, I must have dozed off, because the next thing I could remember was Mia shaking me awake with a soft voice. "Arty? Arty honey, wake up." I could feel her hands shaking my shoulders, and I groaned, my eyelids fluttering open.

I was still sat in the chair in Rosie's room, with the little girl herself curled up into my stomach, sleeping soundly. Mia was knelt by the chair, beaming from me to her daughter. She was a reasonably tall woman, with messy blonde hair and sparkling grey eyes. Her face was sharp and elegant, her skin lightly tanned. Today, she was dressed in a simple, pale grey summer dress and small heels, with a stunning crystal slide pinning one side of her hair back.

"Hey, sleepy," she smiled softly at me. "What are you doing in here? Luke told me you were okay."

"I am," I rushed, trying to shift without waking Rosie. "I just couldn't sleep and Rosie was awake, so I came and sat with her for a while. I hope that's okay."

"Oh, of course it is honey," Mia smiled, tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear as Rosie stirred. "Why don't you go and get some breakfast? I'll sort Rosie and be down in a minute." I nodded, smiling as I pushed myself to my feet. "Oh, and Arty? Happy birthday, sweetheart." She planted a kiss on my cheek before I could move, and I just smiled painfully as I let myself out of the room.

I didn't go back downstairs. In typical style, I'd completely forgotten about my birthday – and incidentally, Harry's birthday – and was now wishing I could crawl back into bed and sleep for the rest of the day. But Will and Evie were due to be here in an hour or two, so I had to continue like nothing had happened.

Locking myself in the bathroom, I turned the shower on so that the water was as cold as I could stand it, hoping it would work to wake me up a bit. Of course, when I pulled my jumper off – praying the tattoo was nothing but a bad dream – I was bitterly disappointed as I came face to face with the brilliant green curled pattern again. Things didn't improve when I realised it couldn't be scrubbed off either.

When I finally managed to drag myself out, I rummaged through my wardrobe for a t-shirt or jumper that would cover the tattoo. Chester was still sat on the padded beach, watching me curiously. My stomach twisting sickly, I managed to find a tight-fitting, long sleeved plain blue t-shirt. Sighing heavily, I pulled it on with a fresh pair of jeans and a thin, patterned scarf.

Downstairs, Rosie was in her highchair while Mia cooked breakfast and Luke had propped himself up at the table with this morning's _Daily Prophet._ On the front, a picture of a ragged looking Sirius Black stared out at me, screaming things I couldn't hear. Ignoring it and knowing Luke and Mia would only get worked up if I mentioned him, I slumped into a chair opposite Luke, pouring myself a goblet of pumpkin juice from the jug in the centre of the table.

"I thought I'd invite the family around for tea tonight, Arty," Mia called over her shoulder. "You know, for your birthday? And I know you, Will and Evie are going to the cinema this morning, but Suzie wants to take you, Evie and Sarah horse-riding again, and Dexter mentioned something about go-carting, whatever that is."

"That's a lot to do in one day, Mia," I sighed as she turned and handed me a plate piled high with sausages, scrambled egg, bacon and beans.

"I know, honey," she grimaced. "But it'll give you something to do. Keep you busy."

"Why would I need to keep busy?" I frowned, restraining the urge to scratch my arm. Mia hesitated, her eyes flicking toward Luke, who was still hiding behind the morning paper.

"You don't want to be bored on your birthday, do you?" she smiled strangely.

"Um . . . of course not," I agreed quietly, more than a little confused by the look on her face. She turned away again before I could ask her why she was acting weird, which I immediately took as a sign to keep my mouth shut. Taking a deep breath, I ate my breakfast in silence, trying not to let the way Rosie kept grabbing handfuls of her scrambled egg make me nauseous.

In the end, Will, Evie and I didn't go to the cinema, which I should have expected. Aunt Suzie arrived at our house just as I was finishing my breakfast, with her daughter Evie and niece Sarah in toe. We spent all morning at the stables about half an hour away from my house. I tried to enjoy myself, but my stomach was churning awkwardly, and every time my horse broke into anything faster than a trot, the tattoo on my forearm tingled and burned inexplicably. Grinding my teeth together, I managed to push that to the back of my head. What I couldn't restrain was the sudden bout of nausea when the woman who owned the stables tried to teach me show-jumping.

Instead of taking me home, Aunt Suzie assured me that I'd feel better as soon as I'd eaten, and we ended up driving to a Muggle restaurant she was obsessed with. Though I had to admit I did feel better afterwards, Evie didn't look impressed about being dragged there again.

After dinner, Aunt Suzie took us back to my house, where my Uncle Dexter, his wife Mary, their two sons Adam and Liam, and Evie's twin Will were waiting for us. In the end, Luke accompanied us to the go-carting track, which turned out to be a serious mistake. While we were there, he iced the floor over in front of Uncle Dexter's cart after Dexter had knocked him off at a corner. The official watching over us had apologised so many times, the words were still ringing in my ears when I walked off the track, but both Luke and Uncle Dexter had chuckled about it all afternoon, especially after Uncle Dexter used the Babbling Curse on Luke. Admittedly, it kept the rest of us amused.

Both of them were still arguing about who was to blame when we got home. "See the curse wore off then?" Uncle Dexter grinned mischievously. He was the same height as Luke, with a little more muscle, short dark hair and brown eyes that glinted as he met Luke's gaze. While Dexter was Mia's brother, he seemed a lot closer with Luke than he and Mia had ever been.

"Here we go again," Will warned Evie and me as we followed him out of Luke's car. Will and Evie were the only twins in the family, both a year old then me and already in their fourth year at Hogwarts. They both had the same, mouse brown hair as their mother, my Aunt Suzie, and the same pale grey eyes as Mia, Suzie's younger sister. Will was taller by about three inches, with carefully gelled hair and a remarkably dark tan from his travels with his father, John, though we were supposed to speak about him. Since Aunt Suzie had divorced him, neither she nor Evie wanted to see him again. I hadn't been brave enough to ask why.

"Yeah, and I doubt that guy will ever let us back there again," Luke grumbled.

"That's because you both act like children," Dexter's eldest son, Adam, smirked. He was tall, slim and intelligent, and had left Hogwarts just as I had finished my first year. He had the same dark hair as Uncle Dexter and pale green eyes inherited from his mother, Mary. His two siblings, Liam and Sarah, were considerably younger. Liam was in the same year as Will and Evie, with tatty blonde hair, a bad case of freckles, and his father's brown eyes. Sarah, on the other hand, was reasonably short, with wavy blonde hair, a light tan, elegant build and bright, chocolate brown eyes. She was in the year below Liam, Will and Evie with me in third year.

"He's got a point," I grimaced at Luke. He pulled a face at me, throwing an arm around my shoulders and pulling me into a one-armed hug.

Inside, the rest of the family was waiting. Aunt Suzie – tall, skinny and dressed in a sapphire blue blouse and a pencil skirt with her mouse brown hair loose around her face and hazel eyes behind stylish glasses – was propped up at the breakfast bar in the kitchen, already sipping a glass of wine. Beside her, Mia and Mary – a smaller, petite woman with blonde hair and green eyes – were locked in conversation about the start of the Hogwarts term. My grandparents – Luke's parents – stood in the background, my grandmother still fussing over the food while my grandfather was trying to explain how Muggle football was better than Quidditch to Aunt Mary and Uncle Dexter's youngest son, Vincent. He was only six years old, with dark hair that stuck up on the top of his head and green eyes that sparkled happily. For some reason, looking at him reminded me horribly of Harry.

"George!" Dexter complained loudly, immediately scooping Vincent out of Granddad's way. "Football? What the hell is football?"

Gran interrupted before Granddad could even start explaining. "Never mind that, and stop cursing in front of the children, Dexter!"

Dexter pointed an accusing finger at Granddad. "He started it!" Vincent and Rosie, who was once again sat in her highchair, giggled as Gran rolled her eyes, ignoring them both and turning to me with a huge smile.

"Happy birthday dear," she beamed, hauling me into a tight hug.

I tried my best to smile back at her as she pulled away. "Thanks, Gran."

"Finally thirteen," she sighed, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear affectionately. "Oh dear, you're growing up too fast! I remember when you were Rosie's age. Oh, you were so adorable! Always causing trouble, mind!"

"A habit she refused to grow out of," Luke added, winking at me deliberately. I had to gulp hard before I could smile back, and his expression wavered a moment.

"Could you just excuse me a moment?" I blurted, taking a few steps toward the stairs. "I'll be back in a bit, I promise."

"Artemis, everyone's here for your birthday, honey," Mia frowned. "Can't it wait?"

"Not really," I grimaced, before wheeling around to the stairs and racing up them without waiting for another answer. Without thinking, I snatched a small present out of the bottom of my wardrobe and flew back down the stairs, letting myself out of the house and hurrying down Magnolia Crescent.

It didn't take me long to find Harry. I vaguely remembered him saying something about his Aunt Marge visiting, and I figured he really didn't want me hammering on his front door. Luckily, he was sat on the floor, leaning against the low wall surrounding the park I'd found him in last night and scowling at something on his sleeve. It wasn't until I got closer that I realised he wasn't looking at his sleeve; it was the blue tattoo etched into his forearm.

I gulped hard, hesitating on the corner of the street. I realised I'd freaked out completely last night, but you could hardly blame me. I mean, how often did something like that happen? Still, I'd completely disregarded how panicked he must have been, and the idea I'd left him worried and anxious in the middle of the night did nothing for my mood.

Taking a deep breath, I started forward until I was stood right behind him. "Freaky, huh?" I muttered.

He started, yanking his sleeve over his arm and looking up. His shock faded when he recognised me, lowering his gaze again. "That's one to describe it," he murmured back.

Swinging my legs over the wall, I sank down on the floor beside him and held out the small present and card. "Happy birthday." Harry blinked, glancing up at me as though he didn't understand. I frowned. "It _is_ your birthday today, right? July 31st?"

"Yeah," he nodded slowly. "I . . . thanks." He reached out to take the present, but flinched away when his fingers touched mine. I went rigid on the spot as his eyes widened, obviously waiting for a repeat of last night.

But nothing happened.

I sighed wryly. "Take the present before I hit you over the head with it." He let out a weak snort, taking it off me with a little more confidence and ripping the card open first. I said nothing as he opened it, winding the end of my scarf around my fingers impatiently.

Eventually he turned his attention to the small parcel and ripped the paper off, a small black velvet box tumbled out. He raised an eyebrow, glancing at me questioningly, but I just elbowed him with a scowl. Lips twitching, he opened it and almost choked. Inside, a red gem about four inches long and three inches deep glistened in the sinking sunlight.

"Is this . . ." he blinked.

"Don't be stupid," I groaned. "The Philosopher's Stone? It was destroyed Harry, and even if it wasn't, why the hell would I have it? But I did buy it because it looked like it."

"Why?" he frowned, taking the stone up and flipping it in his hands.

"It was Mia's idea," I shrugged. "When everyone was going on at you last year about the heir of Slytherin and all that, she decided you needed something to remember what you'd achieved. I mean, defeating Voldemort at eleven years old? Not exactly trademark of the Heir of Slytherin, is it?"

He stared at the stone, still flipping it through his fingers thoughtfully. I wasn't sure what he was thinking, but his expression was distant, as though he was remembering something. Finally, he slipped the stone back into its box and smiled at me. "Thanks, Arty. If I'd known I'd see you today, I'd have brought your present too."

I blinked, trying to figure out why it was so surprising that he'd buy me a birthday present. Hadn't I just done the same? "Forget it," I shrugged. "Guess you're avoiding your Aunt?"

He scoffed. "As much as possible, yeah. But I guess I'll have to get back. She gets suspicious if she doesn't see me for a while."

"Sounds lovely," I grimaced.

"Tell me about it," he sighed, pushing himself to his feet. After a moment's hesitation, he stretched out a hand to help me up, trying not to frown. I debated whether or not to take it for a second, before giving him my hand and pushing myself to my feet. When nothing happened again, the two of us released a sigh of relief each.

"I'll see you later then," I said. "Mia has the family around, so I'd better be getting back." Grimacing once more at him, I stepped over the low wall and crossed the street, where Nyx was sat on the corner, her tail twitching as she saw me coming.

"Hey, Arty?" Harry called uncertainly.

"Yeah?" I turned as I scooped the cat off the floor, scratching her behind the ears absentmindedly.

He shifted on the spot, rubbing his forearm with a small frown. I tried not to flinch, but it was harder than it should have been. "About . . . you know . . ." he trailed, his gaze dropping to his arm.

I gulped hard. "I don't know, Harry," I admitted, annoyed that my voice sounded hoarse and worried.

He frowned for a moment, before tearing his hand away from his arm. "Happy birthday, Arty," he sighed heavily.

I smiled tightly. "Happy birthday, Harry." Without another word, I turned and started back down the street, cuddling Nyx close to my chest and wondering what the hell Harry and I were going to do about the magic coursing across our forearms.


	4. Three: Runaways

The rest of the week passed uneventfully. I spent most of my time finishing off my homework, scowling at the particular nasty essay Snape, the Potions Master, had set. Mia and Luke helped as much as they could, which made it easier, but most of the time, Luke was busy at work at the Ministry, where he worked in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and Mia's time was taken up by caring for a rather exhausting Rosie.

The one thing they both continuously made time for was asking me how I was doing each day. They seemed particularly cautious first thing in a morning, where I was often greeted as though I was about to explode. Neither of them seemed to elaborate on what was supposed to be wrong, so I pushed it to the back of my mind, responding each day with the usual 'fine' before settling to continue my homework.

I had, however, taken to meeting Harry in the park at least once a day when I took Chester and Snow for a walk. Nine times out of ten, we just sat and talked, but on the odd occasion I was too busy to leave the house, I found the tattoo on my arm tingled painfully until I was finally left with no other choice than to go and find him. It unsettled me to know just how little time I was afforded on my own, but I figured the sooner we got to Hogwarts, the easier that would be to handle. Plus, there was bound to be some book or other there that could explain what was happening.

The first time it became a serious problem was toward the end of the week. I'd spent the entire day looking after Rosie because Mia had been in bed with a migraine. She never slept for long because she didn't like leaving Rosie for too long, and she hated making me stay inside all day. Determined I could cope with it, I'd ordered her to bed and kept up a constant supply of tea and toast while I cared for Rosie.

"No, Rosie, you're not allowed my wand," I told her for the hundredth time when she tried to snatch it out of my back pocket. For some reason, I'd taken to keeping it with me at all times, a nervous habit I hadn't had since the Chamber of Secrets incident at school.

The little girl pouted at me and mumbled something that I gathered was supposed to be my name, as well as something that sounded oddly like _'please'_. "No," I said sternly, shaking my head. "It's dangerous."

I could see the tears starting in her eyes, and couldn't help rolling my own. With no other idea of what to do, I scooped her out of her highchair, ignoring the pain that shot up my forearm as a result. It had been gradually getting more and more painfully since about three o'clock that afternoon, and now – at almost six thirty – it was driving me mad. I knew I could deal with it. It wasn't as though it was unbearable. But knowing I could stop it by walking a few minutes down the street was torture.

Still, I curled up in the armchair by the window and picked up Rosie's favourite book, _The Tales of Beedle the Bard._ She settled the moment I started reading to her, cuddling into my side and curling her fingers around my hair. Nyx cautiously leapt onto my lap too, keeping as much distance between her and Rosie as possible. The little girl tended to get excited when she saw the cat.

But before long, Rosie was sound asleep, and Nyx was perched on the windowsill, watching the outside world cautiously. With nothing better to do, I continued reading the book to myself, my left hand twitching in pain every now and then. Fortunately, just as I was wondering what time Luke was getting back, the front door opened and the man himself stepped inside with a heavy sigh.

As quickly and carefully as I could manage, I threw the book onto the sofa across the room and scooped Rosie into my arms. Luke had barely stepped through to the living room when I handed his daughter over to him. I could feel my cheeks flushing under a sudden heat, and, muttering something about needing air, I almost raced out of the house, bolting down the street and down onto Privet Drive.

Without thinking about it, I hammered on the door of Number Four, catching my breath quickly and straightening my expression. Even just being outside his house, I could feel the pain subsiding in my arm and I breathed a sigh of relief, shuffling awkwardly on the spot.

The door was pulled open by a skinny woman with a fake smile. She was about a half a foot taller than me, with a bony face and blonde hair neatly curled on the top of her head. She was dressed in a smart, yet remarkably ugly dress with an apron wrapped around her middle. I recognised her as Petunia Dursley, Harry's horrible Aunt. Her eyes scanned my appearance critically, hovering over my battered skinny jeans, worn combat boots and long-sleeved, baggy grey wool jumper.

"Can I help you?" she asked in a stern voice.

Before I could answer, a much larger woman appeared behind her, almost shoving her out of the way. The woman was so large, she almost blocked the entire door, and the seams of her blouse seemed ready to burst. I had to purse my lips tightly as her beady eyes scanned my expression.

"You must be here to see my Dudders!" she as good as roared.

I raised an eyebrow. "Erm, Dudders?"

"Dudley!" she exclaimed, as though this should have been obvious. I felt my eyes widen. "Good looking girl like yourself, why else would you be here?"

I cleared my throat. "Actually, I'm here to see Harry."

Petunia Dursley paled dramatically, but the larger woman almost had a heart attack. "_That boy?" _she as good as shrieked. "You need some sense knocked into you, girl!" I couldn't stop my hands twitching to my back pocket, where my wand was concealed by the back of my jumper.

"What's going on?" a man called through loudly. The huge woman reached out and grabbed my arm, hauling me into the house roughly and slamming the door behind us. Petunia looked like she was about to stop her, but then thought better of it.

We came to a halt in the dining room, where Harry's cousin Dudley and his Uncle Vernon were sat around the table. Vernon looked oddly like the large woman, with next to no neck and a thick moustache. Dudley was almost the same, with a thin coat of blonde hair on top of his head and several chins. His huge frame didn't even fit on the chair.

"Vernon, this young girl is looking for Potter," the woman – who by now I figured was Harry's Aunt Marge – told him. Vernon suddenly looked like he was about to faint. "Can you believe that? A beautiful young girl like this looking for . . ._ him?"_

I wasn't sure whether to be flattered or offended. Vernon, on the other hand, obviously found my presence here incredibly offensive. "Probably issues with her father," he suggested weakly, pushing himself to his feet. "Best if we just leave them to it."

"Oh no," Marge scoffed, pressing a hand onto my shoulder until my knees gave way and I fell into the chair beside Dudley. The way the boy was gawping at me, pale-faced, made me queasy. "Is that true, girl? Do you have issues with your father?"

I stared at her, wondering why I suddenly wanted to laugh. "I, err, don't know my father," I admitted. "I'm adopted."

Marge threw her hands into the air like she'd just found the secrets to the universe, and I pursed my lips tightly to stop myself smirking as Vernon and Petunia exchanged nervous glances. "Of course, you were right Vernon. Luckily, it's nothing we can't sort out. Set another place at the table for dinner, Petunia. I'll set her straight."

I took a deep breath, shaking my head furiously. "Oh, I really should be getting-"

"Nonsense," Marge dismissed, sitting down Dudley's other side. The chair gave a resounding crack beneath her, but she ignored it. "You'll eat with us here, and by the end of dinner, you'll be wondering what you saw in the boy."

"Oh, I doubt that," I muttered under my breath, rubbing my forearm subconsciously. Dudley was still gawping at me, his tiny eyes wide with something that looked oddly like fear.

Though I knew Vernon and Petunia wanted nothing more than to kick me out of their house, Petunia obediently set another place at the dinner table before screeching for Harry to come down for food. The moment he stepped into the room, he went rigid, staring at me in shock.

"I tried to leave," I grimaced apologetically.

"It's fine," he rushed, a little too quickly. I turned away, wondering why my stomach was twisting nervously as he sat down on my other side. Marge frowned between the two of us as Petunia served dinner. Frankly, it looked awfully, but I ate it politely, taking tiny bites as Dudley wolfed his down like a rabid dog.

"So, girl," Marge started, gulping back a glass of wine in one swig and ignoring the disgusted looks I was shooting Dudley. "What's your name?"

Harry squirmed beside me, but I swallowed the bite of food I'd taken and answered carefully. "Artemis Williams."

"Artemis?" Marge scoffed. "What kind of name is that?"

"Greek, I think," I said sarcastically before I could stop myself, but it was lost of Marge anyway. Harry, on the other hand, seemed to be vaguely amused by my annoyance. I kicked him under the table.

"And how does a boy like _him,_" she started, jerking her head toward Harry in disgust, "meet a girl like you?"

If Vernon had got any paler, he'd have collapsed. "I, err, live a few streets away," I answered, pushing my food around my plate. I highly doubted that anyone at the table wanted to hear the words _'Hogwarts' _or _'magic'_. "On Magnolia Crescent."

Petunia almost choked on her white wine. "Williams?" she breathed, wide eyed. "You're Mia Williams's daughter?"

Harry gawped at his Aunt, and I felt myself shuffle on the spot. "You know her, Petunia?" Marge asked, oblivious to everyone else's discomfort. Petunia nodded, dropping her gaze. "Nice people, I take it? What does this Mia do, _Artemis?"_

She said my name like it was a joke, and my fists clenched around my knife and fork tightly. "She's unemployed," I told her through my teeth. "She stays at home looking after my baby sister, Rosie."

Marge frowned, scanning my expression. "And your father?"

"Luke," I corrected with a scowl that made Harry elbowed me sharply in the side. "And he . . . works in Law Enforcement." Technically, I didn't lie. She didn't need to know he worked in the Ministry of Magic.

"Now there's a hard-working family," Marge declared proudly. "Decent, hard-working people. But you said you've never met your real parents?"

I hesitated, glancing sideways Harry. He was scowling down at his plate, stabbing his food a little harder than necessary. "Erm, no, I haven't," I replied honestly.

"And I suppose you want to?"

"Not particularly, no."

"Good," Marge declared, and my eyes narrowed. "Happy with the family you got, ey? It's people like my brother here and your family that are the backbone of society."

"Um," I scoffed, flicking my gaze toward Vernon.

"Now, _his_ family," Marge started, once again jerking her head toward Harry. I watched him go rigid and my lips pursed. "What was it you said his father did, Vernon? Unemployed, wasn't he?" Vernon gulped, glancing at Harry as he nodded slowly. "And I suppose you're proud of him, are you, Potter? Good for nothing, lazy, scrounging-"

"He was not!" Harry yelled, banging his hands onto the table as he pushed himself up to his feet. Even I jumped out of my skin, my hand automatically reaching back for my wand.

Marge's eyes narrowed at him. "Don't be stupid, boy," she snapped. "He was a good for nothing scrounger and left you as a burden to your hard-wor-"

She cut off suddenly, her face reddening in anger. Harry was still glowering, but the look of panic in Marge's eyes made me double-take. "Erm, Harry?" I started slowly, pushing myself to my feet and trying to pull him away from the table. He didn't budge.

But Marge was still going red, and it was awhile before I could tell what was happening. Her stomach was expanding rapidly, straining an already strained blouse, and a necklace of pearls was a few seconds away from snapping entirely. Her face was growing too, and her sausage fingers were now so large, she had to splay her fingers.

In a matter of seconds, she was leaving the chair, literally floating to the ceiling. Vernon was yelling, Petunia was screaming, and Dudley was trying to shovel as much food as he could into his mouth before the now blown-up Marge could knock it off the table.

Without a word, Harry whipped around and bolted into the corridor. I stared after him for a second, glanced back Marge, then raced after him and took the stairs two at a time. Having never been in Harry's house before, I had to follow the sound of furious footsteps to find Harry's bedroom, a small back room crammed with a small desk, bed and wardrobe.

"Erm, Harry?" I started cautiously. He ignored me, gathering as much of his things as he could and stuffing them inside his trunk. "Going somewhere?"

"Don't bother saying anything," he warned, dragging his trunk after him as he passed me. Sighing heavily, I spun around and followed him silently, skipping down the stairs as Vernon burst into the hallway.

"FIX HER!" he yelled, pointing back toward the dining room.

"Out of my way," Harry warned, kicking his trunk open and taking out his wand. I opened my mouth to say something, but cut off at the look on his face. Pursing my lips, I followed him through the door, just as Vernon's hand reached out and clamped around my forearm. I yelped in surprise, staggering on the spot.

"One of you is going through to that dining room and fixing her!" he screamed at me, and before I could answer, Harry had dragged me behind him, his wand pointed straight between Vernon's eyes.

"Don't _ever_ touch her again," he snarled through his teeth, and I felt my jaw drop in surprise. Vernon was staring at the tip of Harry's wand, shaking on the spot. Clearing my throat, I reached out and pushed Harry's arm down gently.

"Maybe blowing your Aunt up is enough for one night," I muttered weakly. His jaw locked, but he snatched up my hand and pulled me away from the house, starting down Privet Drive.


	5. Four: Diagon Alley

Night had fallen and the cold air made me shiver. I wanted nothing more than to pull my hand out of Harry's, but his anger made me rethink. I'd never seen him like this before, and it put me on edge. Fortunately, I once again ran into my cat, Nyx. Snatching my hand back, I scooped Nyx into my arms and held her close, already relaxing slightly as I followed Harry down the streets.

"Harry," I started slowly, watching his expression carefully. He didn't look at me. "What exactly is the plan here?"

"Don't have one," he told me simply.

I rolled my eyes as he sank onto the low wall outside the park we always went to. Keeping his wand in his hand, he lowered his head into his hands wryly. "Where are you going to go?"

"Arty, I can't stay there!" he snapped at me.

I scowled, hesitating a moment as Nyx rubbed her head into my neck. "Stay with us," I sighed. "I'm sure Luke and Mia will understand, especially if Mia knows your Aunt Petunia."

Harry snorted at me darkly. "I doubt that. Luke isn't exactly my biggest fan, is he?"

"Well you can't stay here!" I exclaimed moodily, slumping onto the wall beside him. Nyx shifted uncomfortably in my hold, but Harry groaned quietly under his breath, spinning his wand through his fingers.

"You saw what they're like, Arty," he scowled. "Last summer, Ron had to break me out of that place. The summer before that, Hagrid had to show up and terrify them before I found out the truth about everything, and this year, I blow up my Aunt."

"Yeah, they are a bit . . ." I trailed off, unable to find the right word to describe them.

Harry scoffed. "Right."

"You still can't sit here all night," I grimaced. "Can't you send a letter to Ron? You stayed with him last summer, right?"

"He's in Egypt," he frowned. "His Dad won some money in a competition in the paper. I thought you read the _Daily Prophet?"_

"Used to," I sighed. "Mia won't let me touch it anymore, with all this about Black." Harry raised an eyebrow at me. "Don't even ask. You remember I said she wouldn't let me go to Hogsmeade this year either? Well the longer he's on the loose, the worse she gets. And Luke's no better. He goes in a mood every time the subject comes up, and I swear he was trying to convince Mia to keep me out of Hogwarts this year. It makes no sense, _I_ know that, but every time I ask, they freak out. I gave up a few weeks ago."

"If they're that paranoid, why are you out so late?" he questioned.

I hesitated, my left hand twitching again. "Didn't really ask. Mia's in bed with a migraine and Luke only just got back from work. I left him with Rosie and legged it."

"They're going to go mental when you get back," he winced.

"Probably," I shrugged. "But they go mental every time I get back. You should have seen them at the end of term. The rant Luke pulled over the Chamber of Secrets at King's Cross? That was nothing compared to Mia when we got home."

Harry laughed with no humour. "You should probably be getting ba-" He cut off suddenly, straightening out and tightening his grip on his wand.

I blinked, my own hand twitching toward my wand. "Harry?" He shushed me and waved me away, staring at a dark alleyway across the street intently. Before I could ask what he was doing, he stood up and muttered, _"Lumos!"_

"Great," I mumbled sourly. "More magic."

He ignored me, stretching out his wand in front of him as he neared the end of the street. I pushed myself to my feet and peered around him, just in time to see a pair of large, glistening eyes before a deafening bang rang in my ears and the blare of headlights hit us.

"Harry!" I yelled, dropping Nyx on instinct and lunging forward to drag him back. He stumbled with a surprised yelp, just as a large, triple decker purple bus jolted to a halt in front of us.

A tall boy of about eighteen with a bad case of pimples jumped out, clearing his throat. His eyebrows knitted together as he caught sight of the two of us, staring at him wide-eyed and stunned.

"Cat got your tongue?" he smirked, pointing very deliberately toward Nyx, whose fur was stood up in irritation as she circled my legs. Rolling my eyes, I scooped the cat back into my arms as Harry straightened out.

"You're hilarious," I told him dryly.

Apparently, he didn't like my tone very much. "Are you getting on the bus or what?" he huffed, folding his arms over his chest.

"Depends," Harry frowned. "Where does it go?"

"Anywhere you want," the boy said, spreading his arms out as though this was a stunning achievement.

Harry snatched up his trunk, rummaging through it for a small money bag. "How much to the Leaky Cauldron?" He dipped his hand into the bag and tossed a fist full of silver Sickles at the boy, who beamed and took his trunk from him happily. Before Harry could say a word, I plunged my hand into the pocket of my jeans and fished out a small handful of spare change, which fortunately covered a lot more than an emergency bus trip to London.

"What are you doing?" he frowned.

I scoffed. "You think I'm leaving you alone wandering London? Are you insane? Besides, it's not like I've got a lot of choice in the matter, is it?" For a second, he looked perplexed by the idea, but as I stepped onto the bus, subconsciously scratching my forearm, his face dropped.

"We really need to figure that out," he said, his voice catching in his throat.

"You're not kidding," I scoffed darkly. "But that can wait. Right now, you're running away from home." I held my hand out toward the bus and he frowned at me as he hauled himself up beside me.

The bus didn't have seats. Instead, a row of beds sat on each side, none of them occupied. A slim spiral staircase stood to the left about halfway down the bus, leading up to the second deck. Real, crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, brightly lit and tickling delicately in a non-existent wind.

The boy put Harry's luggage on the bed right behind the driver, and before he could direct me anywhere else, I dropped onto the one beside it, still holding Nyx close. The boy snorted when he saw the cat again. "Animals don't tend to like this ride," he winked at me. I raised an eyebrow, but he didn't elaborate, banging his fist on the back of the armchair the driver was sat.

All of a sudden, the bus lurched forward with such speed, I yelped and flung an arm out to catch myself on the edge of Harry's bed. Harry wasn't so lucky, groaning as he landed on the floor, flat on his face. Nyx screeched, leaping out of my arms and landing on the end of Harry's bed, digging her claws in and refusing to move.

"Told you," the boy smirked.

"Thanks," I replied sarcastically.

No one spoke much after that. Harry had managed to drag himself back onto the bed, his mouth clamped shut as he tried not to be sick, and I was too busy trying to judge just how bad Luke's yelling was going to be when he found out I'd ran off. Mia was going to have kittens, especially with the fuss over Black.

Trying to take my mind off it, I perched myself carefully on my bed, pulling my knees up to my chest to shield my arm from view as I rolled back my sleeve. The green pattern was still there, glinting strangely in the light from the chandeliers overhead. As I got more and more used to seeing it, the more beautiful it look. Drawn in green ink, it swirled and curved elegantly, about two inches thick and six inches long. I'd tried, on many occasions, to figure out why I'd suddenly got it, but I couldn't find a single explanation. It wasn't until I realised Harry was staring at me that I managed to pull my gaze away from it, rolling my sleeve back down hastily as the bus jerked to a halt.

"The Leaky Cauldron!" the boy announced with a wide grin. I rolled my eyes at him, finally paying attention to the name badge on his jacket, which read _Stan._

"Thanks," Harry mumbled uncertain, grabbing his trunk and rubbing his stomach with a wince. Carefully, I managed to pull Nyx off the bed sheets, cradling her soothingly in my arms as Harry and I made to step off the bus.

"Ah! There you are Harry!"

The two of us started, staring at the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge. He was a short, plump man, dressed in an emerald suit with white hair and tired looking eyes. He was smiling at Harry in something that looked like relief. Or at least, he was until he saw me.

"And you must be Artemis Williams?" he asked, and I was nearly ninety per cent sure he was worried I'd say yes.

"Yes, Minister," I nodded, casting a sideways look at Harry. His expression made it look like he'd just smashed his head through a brick wall.

"Well, I'm glad I've found you both," he beamed, stepping in between us and clamping a hand on our shoulders. I immediately wanted to push him out of the way, almost shuddering away from him, but I held myself in check. "Whatever would your families say if they heard you were wandering the streets alone at night while we have a mass murderer on the loose?"

"They'd probably pray he killed me," Harry mumbled sourly.

"And I can't repeat what Luke and Mia would say," I grimaced honestly. Fudge laughed nervously at the pair of us, steering us toward the Leaky Cauldron and ushering us through the door quickly.

"Tom!" he called, and the toothless landlord suddenly appeared in front of us, grinning oddly. "Can you have us a private parlour? I'd like to have a small talk with Harry here. And please escort Miss Williams to one of your spare rooms. We don't want her uncomfortable for the rest of the night, do we?" He let out another laugh I didn't understand, and Harry blinked at me in confusion. I just shrugged at him.

"Of course, Minister," Tom nodded enthusiastically, leading us all down a small hallway. As soon as he'd unlocked a private parlour for the Minister and Harry, he turned back toward me with the same strange smile. "Follow me, Miss Williams."

I nodded with no conviction, stepping up the stairs with a strange twisting in my stomach. He led me straight through the corridors to the end of the building, where he unlocked the furthest door and held up an arm to show me through. I smiled gratefully, slipping inside and taking a deep breath. Suddenly, looking at the two comfortable four poster beds and oak furniture, I was absolutely shattered. My shoulders actually sagged with exhaustion at the mere thought of sleep.

"If you need anything, Miss Williams, just shout," Tom told me kindly.

"Thanks, I will," I smiled again, and waited until he'd shut the door before sighing again. Nyx leapt gracefully out of my arms, padding toward the nearest bed and curling up on the pillow to go to sleep. "Oh, so you get first choice?" She ignored me completely.

I was planning to wait for Harry to finish speaking to the Minister before going anywhere or doing anything, but when I saw it was almost eleven o'clock at night, I remembered Luke and Mia. Hurrying back downstairs to the bar, I asked Tom if there was any way to send them a letter, and he smiled and informed me that the Minister had already sent it. Though I knew he was just trying to be helpful, I really wished he hadn't bothered. Receiving a letter from the Minister of Magic was going to make this sound a whole lot worse than it was, and I knew I was in serious trouble.

"He asked them to drop your things off tomorrow morning," Tom added. "I'll inform you if they reply, Miss Williams."

"Thanks, Tom," I grimaced, gulping hard as I took to the stairs again. Harry was already on the landing outside his room, yawning widely.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," I sighed. "You?"

"Surprisingly, yeah," he nodded with a frown. "They're not even punishing me for using magic."

"No offence, but with a family like yours, I'm not at all surprised," I snorted with a roll of my eyes.

"I guess so," he shrugged. "Night, Arty."

"Night, Harry," I replied, pushing my door open and slipping inside. Nyx lifted her head as I shut the door behind me, and I snapped my fingers at her impatiently. "Don't even dare think you're sleeping there, missis."


	6. Five: Gift

The next few weeks dragged by painfully slowly. On the first day, Harry and I had waited in the Leaky Cauldron for Luke and Mia to arrive to drop off my things. Tom had had to usher us all into the private parlour when Luke started yelling something violently rude about Sirius Black and how the pair of us would get ourselves killed if we carried on the way we were going. Mia was in tears as they left, neither of them in a very good mood.

Harry decided the best way to cheer me up was with a large, caramel ice cream and the _Quality Quidditch Supplies_ shop. I wasn't quite as into Quidditch as Harry and Ron were, though technically, I did have to pay some attention. At the start of our second year, one of the Gryffindor chasers, Alicia Spinnet, had injured herself quite badly and – after making the unfortunate decision to play with the Weasleys and Harry over summer – Fred, George and Harry had bullied me into taking her spot so that they wouldn't be disqualified. Afterward, Alicia decided in training she hadn't recovered as well as she'd hoped, and I'd once again been bullied into taking up the position full time. I was now the somewhat reluctant owner of a Nimbus Two Thousand.

We spent most of the week wandering the streets of Diagon Alley, occasionally running into friends of ours from school. I even bumped into Aunt Suzie, Will and Evie one day toward the end of the week.

"Wow, are you in trouble," Will winced at me while he, Evie, Harry and me sat outside the ice cream parlour, waiting for Aunt Suzie to finish at Gringotts.

"You really shouldn't have run out on Luke and Mia like that," Evie frowned at me, obviously disappointed. Harry avoided looking at either of them, annoyed he was the only reason I'd left.

"So you'd rather I left Harry alone?" I clarified sourly.

"Of course not!" Evie exclaimed irritably. "But how long would it have taken to drop by and talk to them? And you could have easily invited him to stay _there_ with you." I didn't bother telling her I'd already offered.

The truth was I hadn't wanted to leave Luke and Mia. Quite frankly, I would have much preferred spending the rest of my holidays with them and the rest of the family. But if I couldn't last a day without my arm exploding in pain, how could I let Harry run off to London alone for three weeks?

Ever since Luke and Mia had yelled, screamed, shouted and cried at me for running away like that, I'd been determined that at some point, I'd pluck up the courage to talk to Harry about the situation we were in, the one that up until then, we'd been desperately trying to avoid. But it was easier said than done. Every time I thought about it, I got distracted. Like the morning after Luke and Mia visited, when we were sat at breakfast. Just as I was about to bring it up, Tom the landlord poked his nose in and started asking in depth questions about how we were finding the service there. Or the time at Gringotts, when we almost ran headfirst into the Malfoys.

Eventually though, I finally found an opening. It was at the end of the first two weeks of our stay at the Leaky Cauldron, and the entire bar was deserted because it was so early. Neither of us had been able to sleep, something that was becoming so common, Tom had started cooking us breakfast almost two hours before he usually started. I'd tried to pay extra out of guilt, but he refused to take it, smiling widely at the two of us as he served our food.

The moment he'd gone, I turned to Harry before I could lose the nerve. "We need to talk," I insisted in a low voice.

"About?" he asked distractedly, shovelling food into his mouth like he'd been starved for a week, which I knew was far from the truth. He'd ate so much ice cream, I felt sick thinking about it.

"Three guesses!" I hissed irritably. He hesitated, shuffling on the spot. "Look, I get it's weird-"

_"You think?"_ he scoffed weakly.

I rolled my eyes. "We still need to figure out what's going on! It's not like it's a normal occurrence, Harry, and we can't ask anyone for help."

"Why not?" he frowned.

"Why'd you think?" I groaned exasperatedly, stabbing my bacon a little too forcefully. "It's not normal, Harry, and when people see things that aren't normal, they talk about it. Until we know what the hell it means, it's probably a bad idea to share the experience."

"So if we can't ask for help, then how do we figure it out?" he questioned, dropping his knife and fork to glower at me. "We have no idea where to even start looking, Arty."

"And if we ask someone and we find out it's dangerous?" I retaliated. Harry scowled. "Before you even argue, it wouldn't exactly be out of the ordinary for us, would it? People heard you speak Parseltongue last year and assumed you were the heir of Slytherin, for crying out loud, and I'm positive Parselmouths are more common than this!"

He sighed heavily, leaning his head back and drumming his fingertips on his thigh. "So what do we do?"

"That's an excellent question," I muttered, frowning in thought. "I don't suppose it's dangerous to tell Hermione and Ron. They'd never tell anyone if we asked them not to. And Hermione might have read something about it somewhere. There's always the library at school, and the book store here."

"Not that again," he moaned. "Arty, we spent half of our first year in that library looking for Nicholas Flamel before we found him."

"Ah, but we _did_ find him," I pointed out. "I know it's a long shot Harry, but I don't know what else to do. You must have realised how irritating it got over that first week."

"Just slightly," he sighed. "Which I'm guessing is the entire reason you ran away from Luke and Mia and followed me here."

I shrugged. "It's not like we had a choice."

"That's just it, _I_ did," he scowled, pushing himself up and fixing me with an intense, furious gaze. "You saw how upset Luke and Mia were, and I could have easily stopped that by putting up with the Dursleys or agreeing to stay with you."

"You weren't to know I was stupid enough to follow you, Harry," I groaned, rolling my eyes. "Why are you always blaming yourself for everything?"

"This isn't always, Artemis!" he snapped, and I knew he was on edge the moment he said my name. He never used my whole name. Ever. "Whatever the hell this is, it affects us both, and every time I make some rash, messed up decision, you're the one to pay for it."

"Dear God, Harry, it was one time!" I breathed, a little wide-eyed. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm almost guaranteed to screw up in the next few weeks!"

"Strangely enough, no, that doesn't make me feel better," he mumbled sourly.

"Then I guess we'd better figure it out," I said slowly, watching him pushing his breakfast around his plate, his appetite suddenly gone. "When you've calmed down, obviously. I'm going to go look around that book shop. If I can't find anything in the next few days, I'll grab Hermione when she gets here."

Figuring his silence was agreement, I stood up and walked toward the back of the bar, thanking Tom as I passed him. Taking out my wand, I tapped the right brick on the wall to Diagon Alley, and almost immediately felt myself relax.

I ran into other people I knew from Hogwarts on my way to the book shop. My cousins Sarah and Liam were there with Adam, buying their new books and things for the new Hogwarts year, and again, I was scolded for running out on Luke and Mia. Adam in particular seemed to take it as a personal insult, despite having running away himself as a child on several occasions, and warned me that if I ever pulled a trick like that again, he'd find me himself. The prospect wasn't very comforting.

Inside the book shop would have been like heaven to Hermione. The walls were hidden by huge bookcases, packed with books of all different sizes, shapes and colours. Small, round tables were dotted around the room, each with a dimly lit lamp and piles of dusty, old books. Fortunately, the shop assistant seemed busy serving the few other customers in front of me, so I managed to slip past and browse through the books uninterrupted.

Or so I thought.

"Excuse me . . . err, girl?" a man stuttered uncertainly, tapping my shoulder to get my attention. I turned, scanning the confused look on his face. He was a tall, reasonably young man, maybe in his late twenties with shoulder-length blonde hair and stubble over his chin. In his hands, he held a parcel wrapped in brown paper and what looked like a birthday card.

"Do I know you?" I started cautiously, my hand pausing in my search over the spine of a random book.

"No," he answered, but from the look on his face, I couldn't tell whether he was being serious. He seemed incredibly confused, shuffling on the spot and frowning down at the package in his hands. "I . . . I was told to give this to you."

He held it out in shaky hands.

"By who?" I retorted without taking it off him. I doubted touching the wrapping could be dangerous, not if he was holding it so tightly. But I'd heard of people receiving mail from unknown senders, just to find the item inside was cursed.

"I . . . I can't remember," he said, frowning so deeply his eyes closed as if trying to recall who gave him the package was physical painful. "I was just supposed to give this to Artemis Williams."

"Look, I don't know who-" I cut off when the guy groaned through his teeth, shoving the parcel into my chest and dropping it. On instinct, I caught it before it hit the floor, and before I could say a word, he wheeled around and disappeared into the crowds.

Hesitating only a second, I tucked the package under my arm and hurried after him, squeezing past the other customers in the shop and scanning the street outside for any sign of him, but he'd just disappeared entirely. Biting my lip hard, I turned back toward the Leaky Cauldron and walked as fast as possible back up the street.

It looked like Harry had vanished back into Diagon Alley, but I didn't particular care at that moment in time. I wasn't sure he wanted to speak to me after the conversation this morning, and honestly, I didn't blame him. I wasn't looking forward to seeing him again, either.

Letting myself back into my room, I locked the door behind me and placed the parcel on the end of the bed. For a long time, I paced the length of the room, trying to decide what to do with it. My curiosity was attempting to get the better of me; every now and then a small voice in the back of my head asked how bad it could _really_ be. I mean, who would want to hurt me this badly? Of course, there were a few Slytherins who would love to give me a cursed gift, but none of them were intelligent enough or that dedicated.

Maybe I was over reacting, but I stuffed it into my trunk and decided I'd deal with it later. If I saw the Weasleys in the next few days, I'd ask Mr Weasley about it.

As it turned out, I didn't see Hermione or the Weasleys until the last day of August, and by then, I'd completely forgotten about the package in the face of my original problem; the tattoos Harry and I had suddenly developed.

I staggered down the stairs that morning, still yawning and hating the way I had to keep my jumper on to hide the tattoo from sight, when I saw the Grangers stepping into the Leaky Cauldron from the entrance to Diagon Alley. All three of them looked remarkably tanned from their trip to France over the holidays, and Hermione was smiling from ear to ear as she rattled off a list of books she needed to her parents, though it didn't look like they were paying much attention. Both of them were staring around the pub anxiously, as though they thought they were about to be attacked or cursed.

"Hermione!" I called loudly, waving her and her parents over to the table Harry and I always sat at toward the back of the room.

"Hey, Arty," she beamed, throwing her arms around my shoulders and suffocating me with a mass of brown hair. "How are you? I heard you ran away! Please tell me that isn't true?"

"How on Earth did you hear about that?" I breathed, wide eyed.

"So you did?" she gasped.

"I'll explain later," I promised her in a small voice. She frowned and pursed her lips, but nodded once. "Hello, Mr Granger, Mrs Granger."

"Hello, Artemis dear," Mrs Granger smiled kindly as I shook both of their hands. "Hermione, we'll just ask the landlord for a room for you, and then we'll leave you with your friends, okay?"

"Oh, I have room in my room, if you want," I suggested, fixing Hermione with an intense gaze. "I have some homework I need you to look at anyway. Tom will give us a spare key if I ask him."

She hesitated, nodding slowly. "Erm, sure. Why not?" The look she was giving me obviously meant she was thinking of a thousand reasons why not.

"Okay then, dear, we'll let you get on with it," Mrs Granger smiled. "Have a good year." She and her husband said their goodbyes to Hermione, before leaving the two of us sat alone at the table.

"Right, what are you up to?" Hermione scowled. "Because honestly Artemis, we aren't even at Hogwarts yet!"

"I'm not up to anything," I groaned. "I just have a little . . . problem, that's all."

"Why am I not surprised?" she scolded.

I snorted at her, hauling her to her feet and starting toward the stairs. "Wait until you see the problem." She mumbled something I couldn't catch under her breath, but let me lead her back up the stairs and down the corridor toward my room. I made a quick stop outside Harry's room, hammering on the door and shouting through to him to meet Hermione and me in my room ASAP.

"Artemis, honestly," Hermione groaned, rolling her eyes as she placed her trunk at the end of the spare bed, petting an attention-seeking Nyx and making herself comfortable.

"Don't _honestly_ me, Hermione," I frowned. "I'm trying to ask you for help here." She gave me a worried look, but was interrupted before she could say anything by a half-sleeping Harry letting himself in with a wide yawn.

"If this isn't life or death, Arty," he warned quietly.

"Hermione's here," I smiled cheerfully, just as the girl herself gave a loud gasp, jumping to her feet and bolting toward Harry.

"Oh my!" she blinked, snatching his left wrist up and yanking his arm out in front of him. "What on _Earth_ happened to you?" She was staring down at the blue tattoo etched into his skin in a mixture of amazement, curiosity and worry. In the same second, Harry slammed the door shut with a furious scowl and pulled his arm back, rolling his sleeve back down his arm.

"That's what I wanted to ask you about," I started, ignoring the glowering looks Harry was giving me and focusing my attention on Hermione. "I have one too." She almost fainted when I pulled my sleeve back to show her.

"Oh my," she gulped, scanning it curiously, her eyebrows creasing together. "I've never heard of anything like this before . . . what happened?"

With a quick glance in Harry's direction, I explained how we'd been talking the night before our birthday, and how when Harry touched me, the tattoos just appeared, along with blinding pain and intense panic.

"But you've been friends for years," she frowned. "I don't understand why this is only just happening if all that triggered it was Harry stopping you from falling over."

"Neither can we," Harry reminded her sourly. "And Artemis here doesn't think we should tell anyone." I found my teeth grinding together at the sound of my whole name again. It felt so wrong coming from him.

"She's right," Hermione nodded immediately, shooting him a stern look. "Harry, this isn't normal, even in the wizarding world. It's not something to shout about, not until we know what it means, anyway. Just look at what happened when everyone found out you spoke Parseltongue."

I tried not to look too smug at that, but from the expression on Harry's face, I failed miserably.

"I've never read anything about this kind of thing," she conceded as I rolled my sleeve back down. "Honestly, I wouldn't even know where to start looking. There's a book I've been meaning to get for ages, _The Unsolved Mysteries of Magic,_ but I don't know whether we'd find anything in there. Just because we haven't solved it doesn't mean someone else hasn't, and if they have, they're keeping it incredibly quiet."

"Not surprising," Harry and I muttered in unison.

"We'll have to look in the library when we get to Hogwarts," she grimaced. "And if we still can't find anything, you could always ask Dumbledore. He might know something."

"Sounds like a plan," Harry nodded, jumping back to his feet and letting himself out of the room as quickly as possible. Hermione blinked after him in surprise, while I tried to contain the urge to follow him and hit him over the head.

"He, err, seems to be taking it well," she muttered weakly.

"The sooner we figure it out, the better," I replied simply.


	7. Six: On The Hogwarts Express

Harry didn't speak to me for the rest of the day, something I tried to ignore but found it increasingly difficult. We found the Weasleys outside the book shop while Hermione bought _The Unsolved Mysteries of Magic_ in the hopes of solving our little situation. It was probably a good thing they were all there for dinner that night, because it was a lot easier to ignore the tense atmosphere between Harry and me while I was laughing with Fred and George.

The morning after wasn't much better. Hermione woke me up at half past eight, and to my surprise, she looked incredibly worried.

"Are you alright?" she asked me cautiously.

"Not really," I mumbled, rubbing my eyes wryly. Every inch of my body felt weak and tired, despite the fact I'd been sleeping solidly since eleven o'clock the night before. It took me a moment or two to be able to sit upright, and by the time I did, Hermione was sat at the end of my bed with huge eyes and her lips pursed.

"Do you need a glass of water?" she questioned kindly.

I smiled weakly, shaking my head as I swung my legs off the side of the bed. "I'll be fine after I've showered and ate."

"Okay," she nodded uncertainly, pushing herself to her feet. "I'm going to take my things downstairs and get some breakfast. I'll be downstairs if you need anything." I grimaced my acknowledgement as she turned and let herself out of the room.

Slipping into the shower, I tilted my head back and let the water burn my back. It took about half an hour for me to finish, and by the end, I wasn't feeling much better. All the hot water had done was make me more drowsy. Splashing my face with cold water from the tap, I pulled on my favourite, long-sleeved blue t-shirt, a pair of battered skinny jeans, my combat boots and a jacket before hauling my packed trunk down the stairs.

"What happened to you?" Fred snorted as I slumped into the chair beside Harry, oddly cold.

"Nothing," I replied in a murmur, ignoring the burning look from Harry and piling my plate with toast and scrambled egg.

In no time at all, we'd finished breakfast and were piling into two Ministry cars that Mr Weasley had arranged for. Harry, Ron, Hermione and I were squeezed into the first one, with Mr Weasley and an important looking Percy sitting in the front with the driver. The moment the car pulled away from the Leaky Cauldron, Hermione burst into a one-sided conversation about all of her new subjects. Every now and then, she'd pull me into it since I was the only one in the car taking Arithmancy with her, something I was growing to regret with every passing minute.

When we pulled up at King's Cross, Mr Weasley made us go through the barrier two at a time with a stern expression. He pulled Harry through first, and I was irritated to realise my arm tingled the moment he disappeared from view. Fortunately, I was going through next with Fred, followed by George and Hermione, then Ron and Percy, and finally, Mrs Weasley and Ginny. When we were all safely through, Mr Weasley directed us to the end of the train and started to help the twins and Percy haul our luggage on board.

"Now listen here, you four," Mrs Weasley was frowning in a sharp voice, waving a finger between me, Harry, Ron and Hermione. "No wandering off this year, you hear me? I want all of you on your best behaviour."

The four of us exchanged confused looks, but promised Mrs Weasley we'd try our best. She didn't look entirely reassured, but she hugged each of us tightly before stepping back with a loud sniff and handing out sandwiches to everyone.

Just as I turned to climb onto the train, however, a familiar voice started yelling at me. "Hey, Arty!"

I turned to see my Uncle Dexter and Aunt Mary waving frantically at me, beckoning me toward them. Mr and Mrs Weasley frowned, scanning them cautiously. "It's alright," I assured them. "It's my Aunt and Uncle. I'll be back in a second."

"Well hurry up!" Mrs Weasley called after me as I raced down the platform. "The train will be leaving soon!"

Weaving between the many students hurrying to store their things onto the train, I finally found my family. Will, Evie, Liam and Sarah were standing in the doorway to the train, smiling and waving at me as I approached, and Uncle Dexter and Aunt Mary were stood side by side, the first frowning curiously and the second smiling shakily.

"Mia asked me to give you this," Uncle Dexter told me, holding out a piece of parchment. "Honestly, I thought it was a bad idea, and I'm pretty sure Luke doesn't know, but she started crying again and my resolve cracked. Knows how to get to me, does my little sister."

I raised an eyebrow, taking the parchment and opening it out. My jaw dropped. "My Hogsmeade form?" I blinked. "But she said . . ."

Uncle Dexter held a hand up. "Apparently, she thinks she should trust you, despite the fact you ran away. I really hope she's right, Artemis. You really upset her with that one."

A lump formed in my throat, and I found myself scratching at my arm again. "Yeah, I know, I . . . didn't think," I muttered.

"Um," he frowned.

"Well, I think it's better for you to be with your school friends," Aunt Mary smiled kindly at me. "Better being with people who can look out for you than wandering off on your own." I wasn't sure whether I should be pleased she was standing by Mia's decision, or annoyed she thought I'd run off anyway.

"Thanks," I managed. "I should be getting back to the others."

"Take care of yourself, kid," Uncle Dexter sighed, pulling me into a one-armed hug as Aunt Mary planted a kiss on my forehead. "No funny business this year, you hear?" I pushed my growing curiosity to the side and nodded, turning away from them and scanning the Hogsmeade form, now complete with Mia's signature. Why was everyone so worried about me this year?

"Come on, Artemis dear!" Mrs Weasley encouraged as I returned, almost shoving me onto the train. "You don't want to miss it."

"Um, don't want a repeat of last year," I muttered at Ron, and his face flushed bright red. I barely noticed, running the parchment through my fingers thoughtfully. What if this was some sort of test? Mia knew I knew she didn't want me in Hogsmeade. What if this was just some cruel test of how much I actually cared for what she thought or wanted?

Harry didn't look any better as he clambered onto the train beside me, mumbling under his breath and leading the three of us down the corridor to find an empty compartment. The only one was the last on the train, where a man dressed in tatty, worn robes was sat in the corner, apparently sleeping.

"Who's that?" Ron frowned.

"Hang on, let me consult the crystal ball," I sighed sarcastically, and Hermione shot me a disapproving look.

"Professor R. J. Lupin," she answered Ron calmly, pointing toward a battered looking briefcase on the racket behind the man's head. "I suppose he's the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"Reckon he's any good?" Ron grimaced, peering at him curiously. "He looks like one hex could finish him off."

"Can't be any worse than Lockhart," I pointed out dryly, slumping in the chair opposite Lupin. "That man was insufferable. Did you hear? After the mess in the Chamber last year, he's in some mental ward at St. Mungo's."

"That's awful!" Hermione breathed as Ron snorted.

"Hermione, the guy tried to wipe our memories!" he replied sourly. "He was a fraud!" She pursed her lips, shuffling on the spot.

"Yeah, well it looks like this year will be just as eventful as the last," Harry frowned irritably, and immediately, I had the urge to chuck the Hogsmeade form out of the window. Ron and Hermione exchanged worried glances as Harry took a deep breath. "I overheard your parents last night, Ron, talking about Sirius Black."

"Good start," I mumbled with a scowl.

"Right," Harry snorted. "They were saying that the guards at Azkaban told Fudge he kept muttering in his sleep, always the same thing; He's at Hogwarts." Hermione let out a weak whimper, her eyes wider than usual. He ignored her and continued. "Apparently, he broke out to come after me. Thinks that killing me will bring Voldemort back, or something."

"That's insane," Ron breathed.

"Ron, the guy's a madman," I reminded him bitterly. "Insane kind of fits the profile, don't you think?"

"But he'll never be able to get you in Hogwarts, right?" Hermione asked shakily. "I mean, if You-Know-Who feared Dumbledore, his right-hand man wouldn't just stroll into the castle, would he?"

"Not unless he had nothing to lose," Harry shrugged. An uneasy silence fell on the compartment then, in which Lupin gave a rather loud snort and rolled over, his mouth hanging open slightly.

"You know, you two are going to have to be more careful this year," Hermione suggested quietly. Harry and I exchanged a mystified look, raising an eyebrow. She groaned and rolled her eyes. "Those _things_ on your arms? It isn't like Black is your only problem, and Harry, you admitted it yourself when you said your choices impact both of you."

"Did he now?" I almost growled, glowering in his direction. He didn't meet my gaze. "And when was this?"

Hermione kept flicking her eyes between the two of us in concern. "He's just worried, Artemis," she mumbled eventually, and I snorted, reaching forward and letting Nyx out of her cage. She leapt delicately on the bench between Harry and me, stretching out cautiously as Hermione let her own cat – an ugly, flat faced animal called Crookshanks – out.

"Are you insane?" Ron suddenly snapped, clamping his hands over his top pocket. "That thing isn't safe around Scabbers!"

"Don't be silly, Ron," she sighed. "Nyx is fine, look."

"Nyx hasn't ever tried to eat him!" he retorted angrily, eyeing my cat as she plodded onto my lap and curled up contentedly. Crookshanks, however, was sat beside Hermione, watching Ron with his head tilted to the side.

Before Ron could say anything else, the compartment door slid open and my older cousin Evie stepped inside, smiling from ear to ear. "Hey guys," she greeted. "Arguing already?" The four of us grunted, Ron still scowling at Hermione and my eyes still narrowed at Harry. "Great! Anyway, I'm glad you got permission to come to Hogsmeade, Arty. Sarah got Uncle Dexter to sign hers and she doesn't want to be the only third year with us when we take her to the Three Broomsticks."

"I thought you said you weren't allowed to go," Harry frowned at me.

I shrugged irritably. "Mia changed her mind. Didn't I tell you?" His jaw locked furiously.

"Erm, I'm . . . just in the next compartment if you need anything," Evie said slowly, her eyes flitting between Harry and me. "Fred, George and Lee are showing us some of the joke stuff they've invented. It's actually kind of cool. I'll see you later, Arty." With one last uncertain look in Harry's direction, she turned and left us alone, closing the compartment door after her.

None of us were in a good mood for the rest of the journey. Hermione dug into her trunk and pulled out a complicated looking book that turned out to be _The Unsolved Mysteries of Magic_, while Ron and Harry got into a conversation about our chances at the Quidditch cup. If ever the subject of the Chasers came up, Harry refused to refer to me by my name, something that made my teeth clench angrily.

It wasn't until half way through the journey that my mood reached an all-time low. My wry feeling from this morning had doubled in the time it took to reach mid-afternoon, and every movement of my head sent me spinning and clutching my stomach. All three of them noticed, and even Harry's anger at me disappeared as they kept shoving glasses of water under my nose.

Eventually, I hurriedly excused myself and rushed to the bathroom halfway down the train, where I locked myself in and began vomiting violently down the toilet. My hands were shaking when I finally finished, and my forehead had broken out in a cold sweat. I was just splashing my face with cold water when someone knocked on the door hesitantly.

"Artemis?" Hermione's quiet voice came. "Are you alright? Do you need me to wake the Professor up?"

"No, I'm fine," I assured her, hating the way my voice caught in my throat. "Probably ate something funny."

She didn't look reassured as I stepped back out of the bathroom, but didn't complain and led the way back to the compartment. From the expressions on Harry and Ron's faces, I gathered I looked as bad as I felt. The thought didn't do much to comfort me, but I curled back up in the corner with another glass of water and tried my best to take deep, relaxing breaths.

In typical fashion, just as I was starting to feel a little better, the day got even worse.

Night had fallen outside, and a cold breeze had frosted the edges of the windows. Without warning, the train shuddered to a halt, its brakes squealing in protest. Ron sighed in relief, stretching out with a huge grin. "Great, I'm starving," he complained.

"We can't be there yet," Hermione frowned, glowering at her watch.

"Then why are we stopping?" he questioned. Harry, who was sat closest to the door, stood up and slid it back, peering out into the corridor as I turned to scan the darkness outside.

"I think there's something out there," I muttered, ignoring Hermione's small gasp and Ron muttering darkly under his breath. Scowling, Harry slid the door shut again and sat back down beside me, his hand clutching his wand in his pocket. Cursing myself for packing mine in my trunk, I straightened a little beside him.

Overhead, the lights flickered and died entirely.

"This doesn't look good, does it?" Ron gulped through the darkness. No one answered him.

The door to the compartment suddenly gave a small jerk and slid open with a surprisingly loud bang. Hermione squealed in shock as Ron yelped and Harry and I both leapt out of our skins. I could hear the Professor shifting in his corner, mumbling under his breath.

"What's going on?" a voice came from the door.

"Neville?" Hermione asked cautiously.

"Hermione?" a second voice came.

"Ginny?" Ron questioned.

"Ron?"

"Fred? George?" Harry asked.

"Harry?"

"Oh great!" I groaned loudly, jumping to my feet to pull the four of them into the compartment. "We all know each other's names!"

"Artemis," Fred and George sighed in unison.

"Artemis?" a hoarse voice asked. No one answered this time. _"Lumos!"_

I had to shield my eyes from the light at the tip of Lupin's wand. The Professor was stood with his back to the window, clutching his wand out in front of him and staring at me with wide, stunned eyes.

"Erm, do I know you?" I asked slowly. Lupin didn't answer, blinking at me.

Behind me, the door creaked again, and the sudden shudder that ran down my spine made me gasp in surprise. Without a word, Lupin lunged forward and locked a hand around my wrist, dragging me behind him roughly. Instantly, my head spun and I staggered, clamping a hand over my mouth.

Then I saw what was stood in the doorway.


	8. Seven: The Dementor

A rush of cold air suddenly encased my body and seeped through my skin as the hooded figure took a rattling breath. I shivered uncontrollably from behind Lupin, barely noticing when Harry straightened out and yanked me down in the seat beside the window right next to him. His hands held me in place tightly. I didn't argue. I had no clue what was going on, but for the first time since going into the Chamber all that time ago, I felt perfectly safe. I had no idea why.

Harry tightened his grip as another wave of freezing air seemed to drag us toward the door, pulling my hair into my face. My chest suddenly constricted, my stomach turning repeatedly until I felt ready to vomit. I could hardly breathe my body was panicking so much. Harry's hands were tightening again. They seemed to hold me as though their life depended on it. I gulped, wishing there was a way I could help him. But the moment the thought crossed my mind, his hands loosened and I had the horrible feeling he was beginning to lose consciousness. Something in my stomach leapt and squirmed violently, making me choke.

_This isn't right,_ a small voice at the back of my mind insisted sternly.

There was a sudden bang in the compartment, as his hands released me all together and slipped away. A blinding light emitted from the centre of the small room and it took me awhile to see the silver, glowing dog.

It held its tail between its legs, baring its teeth. The dog snarled angrily at the hooded figure in the black cloak. It didn't appear to have a wearer. Not until I saw the scabby, bony hands clutching the door frame. It tried to take a breath, but the dog immediately snapped. It barked loudly and furiously, advancing toward the cloak. It was actually shaking with anger. The cloak didn't hesitate before it flew away.

I didn't move for a moment. The dog stood, guarding the door with its teeth still bared. The lights flickered back on overhead and the first thing I noticed was Harry's unmoving body on the floor by my feet.

"Harry!" Hermione, Ron and I exclaimed. He didn't move.

I slid off my seat, but before I could lower myself down beside him, a hand grabbed my arm and pushed me back.

"He'll be fine," Lupin sighed, eyes narrowing slightly. "You, however, will stay there until you've ate something."

"Harry's unconscious and you're concerned about me?" I asked nastily before I could stop myself. "Do you actually have a brain?"

"Do you?" Lupin retorted calmly. "Harry is unconscious, as you so kindly pointed out. There is nothing I can do for him until he wakes. _You_ are awake. Stay there." I scowled at him, but didn't move. Hermione and Ron gawped slightly, before slowly lowering themselves down at either side of me.

Now that I could see properly, I noticed how tired and worn Lupin looked. It was as though he'd never had a night's sleep in his life. His mouse brown hair was short and messy, but not in the way Harry's was. He had bags under his eyes that made him look like he'd been punched twice. His electric blue eyes were dull and lifeless.

_Brilliant,_ I thought to myself. _Another teacher that sucks the life out of everything._

No one spoke for a while. Hermione and Ron sat beside me protectively, glancing occasionally at Harry. I sat with my back straight, glowering at Lupin. Fred and George sat at either side of the door, staring at the silver dog, that hadn't moved since the cloaked figure had gone. Neville looked ready to cry and Ginny was curled in the seat Lupin had left, shaking uncontrollably.

I nudged Hermione, nodding toward Ginny. Hermione mumbled something I didn't catch, but moved obediently and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Lupin glanced from Hermione and Ginny, to Fred and George, to Ron, to Harry, and finally rested on me. He snorted quietly, but shook himself as he took a package from his pocket.

The dog suddenly sprang in action. Its tail wagging happily, it leapt onto the chair beside George and moved toward me and Ron. It stepped over Ron quickly and sat on its rear beside me, barking cheerily. Nyx hissed at it angrily, leaping onto my lap protectively with her spine arching. I raised an eyebrow. But warm, calming air seemed to radiate off the dog and I found myself staring at it curiously.

"What on Earth . . ." I trailed with a frown.

"A Patronus," Lupin answered quickly, as though the words were painful to say. He wouldn't look at me as he spoke, and I was about to ask what a Patronus was when Hermione nudged me with her foot, catching my attention.

"A Patronus is a charm that repels Dementors," she told me. "The thing that was stood in the doorway just then was one. A Patronus embodies everything a Dementor feeds off, like happiness and warmth, but the Dementors can't drain it like they can us. It shields the caster from the effects."

"Why does it look like a dog?" I frowned, staring at it cautiously as its tail wagged happily against the chair with no noise.

Hermione shrugged. "Each one forms a different shape depending on the castor."

"And who cast this one?"

Before I could get the answer, something snapped loudly.

"Eat," Lupin said shortly, handing me a piece of chocolate. "It'll help." Frowning slightly, I took the chocolate from him and shoved it into my mouth as I was told. Everyone paused for half a second, staring at me. The dog barked and Lupin flicked his eyes toward it.

I felt my eyebrows rise again as his eyes narrowed, glaring at the dog as though it had ate his pet rabbit. Shaking himself with a locked jaw, Lupin turned and handed the chocolate round, just as Harry stirred. I completely ignored Lupin and the dog as I slid off my seat and knelt beside him.

"I thought I told you not to move," Lupin said slowly.

"Does it look like we're at Hogwarts yet?" I snapped back. "When we get there, try telling me what to do then."

"Try?" he questioned.

I shrugged, helping Harry sit up. "I've ate anyway," I added moodily. Lupin snorted again.

"What's going on?" Harry asked groggily, lifting a hand and rubbing his eyes with tight eyebrows. "Who the hell are you annoying now, Arty?" Ron snorted and Hermione groaned, both of them shaking their heads wryly.

"Are you okay?" I questioned cautiously, ignoring Ron and Hermione. Harry looked up at me, frowning slightly. I waited patiently and he nodded, confused.

"Are y- What happened?" he altered quickly.

"Dementors," Lupin started from behind me. Harry blinked, but I scowled and shrugged. "They were searching the train of Sirius Black, I suspect."

"Okay then," Harry replied slowly, glancing at me. Again, I shrugged.

"Here," Lupin continued, passing Harry a piece of chocolate. "Eat. It'll help." Harry blinked, glancing sideways at me as he took the chocolate. Ignoring Lupin's burning gaze, I nodded and pushed the chocolate closer to him. Shrugging a shoulder, he bit into it, swallowing it awkwardly. I stood up, straightening out.

"I'm just going to talk to the driver," Lupin announced suddenly. "Excuse me." He strode from the compartment, just as the dog vanished with a soft pop.

"What's with him?" Ron asked.

Harry scoffed, standing up slowly. "It wasn't him you were annoying, was it?" he asked. I didn't answer, but the guilty look on my face was probably enough of an explanation. "We aren't even at Hogwarts yet Arty."

"Since when did you care about that?" I replied, raising an eyebrow.

Harry smirked, shrugging. He stared around the room, frowning. "Is everyone okay?" Slowly, everyone nodded. Hermione's grip on Ginny seemed to tighten a little. I sighed heavily, sitting back down in the corner. Harry carefully lowered himself between me and Ron, breathing deeply. His eyes kept flicking toward me.

No one said anything for the rest of the journey. Ginny had stopped shaking by the time we'd stopped, but her face was still deathly pale. The twins walked at either side of her protectively for a while, until she got annoyed and snapped at them.

I stepped onto the platform, frowning into the distance. Ron was stood beside Hermione like a guard dog, though I didn't think Hermione minded at all. She was pulling her wand out of her trunk, mumbling to herself when I stopped beside them. Of course, Harry wasn't far behind me. However, unlike Ron, it wasn't so protective. It was more like supportive. I couldn't help noticing Lupin staring at us as I hauled myself into the carriage.

The others lightened up a bit on the way there. I peered out of the window to get a glance at the castle. Harry and Ron were again talking about the Quidditch season and Hermione was talking at me about her vast number of subjects again. She didn't seem to realise I wasn't paying any attention.

Two large, looming dark figures were stationed at the gates to Hogwarts. I pressed myself back into my seat and held my breath as we passed the Dementors. I breathed a sigh of relief when the carriage entered Hogwarts grounds and stopped at the front of the castle. I stepped out gracefully and waited patiently for Harry, Ron and Hermione to follow me. But a cold, sneering voice made my fists clench.

"You fainted Potter?" Malfoy smirked. As usual, Crabbe and Goyle stood behind him like bodyguards, though this time, Blaise Zabini stood beside him too. My eyes narrowed.

"Just ignore him Harry," Hermione sighed, as Harry opened his mouth to snap back. She glowered at Malfoy, pulling Harry back.

"Need the Mudblood to stick up for you Potter?" Malfoy sneered. Zabini chuckled darkly. Harry pulled himself from Hermione's grasp and reached for his wand, but I beat him to it.

"That won't be necessary Artemis," Lupin's weary voice came. I glanced up as he strode toward us, stopping between the two groups. Pausing for only a second, I lowered my wand. Malfoy relaxed a little, staring at Lupin.

"Thank you Professor," he sneered. I wondered if Lupin could hear the sarcasm in his voice, or if I was just imagining it. "Everyone knows Williams has anger issues."

"If you're not careful, you'll definitely know better than the rest," I snarled through gritted teeth.

Malfoy glared. "Now, is that anyway to talk in front of a teacher?" he asked. My hand twitched upwards. Lupin coughed pointedly.

"Of course not," I replied, smiling sickly at him.

Malfoy smirked, watching Lupin head up to the castle over his shoulder. "You'd think he'd be able to afford decent robes with a job here," he muttered at Zabini. I went rigid, fists clenching. I was all too aware that my wand was still in my hand.

"At least he's a half decent human being!" Hermione snapped.

Malfoy scowled at her. "You wouldn't know what that meant though, would you Mudblood?"

Before I could even blink, Harry had his wand out and pointed directly at Malfoy. _"Stupefy!"_ he exclaimed. The spell hit Malfoy square in the chest and he collapsed instantly. Zabini had his wand out in seconds.

"_Petrificus Totalus!"_ he snapped.

"_Protego!"_

Zabini's spell collided with Hermione's shield, which stood metres in front of Harry.

"_Bombarda!"_ I snarled. Zabini, Crabbe and Goyle were blasted off their feet, all landing with a thud in the doorway of the castle.

"Artemis!"

"WILLIAMS!"

"They would only hear me, wouldn't they?" I groaned at Harry, as Snape hurried through the Entrance Hall, Lupin hot on his heels. Snape passed Zabini, Crabbe and Goyle and headed straight for Malfoy. Lupin ignored the other three too, but headed for me and Harry instead.

"What were you thinking?" he scowled angrily.

"Everyone asks that," I sighed calmly, frowning as though confused. "I thought it would have been obvious." Lupin was lost for words. I shrugged. "If I hadn't wanted to hurt them, I wouldn't have done it."

"Why did you want to in the first place?" he asked, astounded. "It's _never_ okay to attack other students."

I gawped at him as Dumbledore headed calmly our way, his face set. "Malfoy called me a Mudblood Professor," Hermione told them both quietly. "So Harry attacked him. When Zabini tried to get Harry-"

"Emphasis on the tried," I pointed out loudly, glaring at the Slytherins who were now staggering to their feet. Hermione glared at me for a second.

"Please continue Miss Granger," Dumbledore said sternly.

"I blocked it and Artemis attacked them," she finished, down-heartedly. Dumbledore nodded once, glancing between Harry and me. But Snape was heading our way.

"How dare you attack another student Williams?" he snarled, spraying spit everywhere in his anger.

I jumped back, repulsed. "It's quite easy actually," I frowned, wiping it off my face and glaring at Harry. He seemed to be trying not to smirk. I noticed that no one was yelling at him and he'd started it.

"Potter, Weasley, Granger, what are you waiting for?" Snape snapped. "Get to the feast! Williams won't be joining you tonight." My jaw dropped. I was suddenly beginning to regret not buying anything from the trolley earlier.

"Severus, starving Miss Williams won't help," Dumbledore sighed. "Detention will be sufficient." He gave Lupin an odd look before turning to walk away.

Lupin clenched his jaw. "My office at eight o'clock tomorrow," he said reluctantly. "And Wednesday," he added quickly. He snapped his fingers toward the castle and Harry, Ron and Hermione started moving. I paused, scowling at Lupin. I had no idea why the man had taken such a dislike to me immediately. I already had that from Snape, just because I was friends with Harry.

Grimacing at Lupin, Harry took my wrist and pulled me away before I could say anything stupid. He was still smirking, which didn't improve my mood any. I yanked my wrist from his grasp, scowling at him. He chuckled.

"You're lucky Dumbledore was there, Arty," Hermione started, in her usual know-it-all tone. "You know what Snape would have done, right?"

I thought about it for a second and shuddered. "I'd rather not," I replied, sitting myself down at the Gryffindor table.

"Then why do you have to get yourself into so much trouble?"

"Do you really need to ask me that?" I asked. Hermione groaned, shaking her head and slapping Harry on his arm for laughing.

"You'll go too far one day Artemis," she warned me darkly.

I raised my eyebrows as Lupin stalked past the table, refusing to look at us. "I think it's a bit late for that Hermione."


	9. Eight: The Nightmare Boggart

As it turned out, the next morning wasn't any better. I woke up feeling like I'd been hit by a train travelling at high speed, and from the looks I got from Hermione and the others, I obviously appeared to be on the verge of passing out.

"Maybe you should see Madam Pomfrey," Sarah suggested carefully, watching me rummage through my trunk for my robes with a tight grimace.

"I'm fine," I dismissed, my stomach twisting in protest. "I just need something to eat and drink, that's all." Hermione sent Sarah a look that clearly said _don't argue_ as I pulled my robes out of the trunk and slipped into the bathroom to shower before breakfast.

By the time I reached the Great Hall, however, I was starting to think Sarah might have been right. Everyone I passed asked me how I was feeling, and however many times I tried to ignore them, there was always someone else waiting to ask the exact same question. When I finally reached the Gryffindor table, I sank onto the bench beside Harry, my head in my hands.

"You look awful," he told me.

"Cheers," I groaned, pulling a slice of dry toast toward me and nibbling on it reluctantly. Without a word, Hermione snatched my goblet up and filled it with water, shoving it into my hands with a warning look. Smiling gratefully, I took a small sip as McGonagall neared, handing out third-year timetables.

"Williams," she called, her eyes on the pile of parchment in her hands as she took the top one off and held it out for me. The moment she glanced up, her eyes widened a fraction. "Williams, what on Earth is the matter?"

"Please don't, Professor," I mumbled, taking the parchment. "I'm fine, honestly."

She scoffed in disbelief, scowling at Harry. "Potter, I don't care what she says. If she gets any worse, you're to take her to the hospital wing."

"Yes Professor," Harry nodded, his lips twitching as I glowered at him.

"Try it," I warned under my breath as McGonagall disappeared. "I dare you." Harry lifted an eyebrow, smirking like I'd just issued him a challenge. Fortunately, Ron interrupted before either of us could say another word.

"Potions with Snape first thing on a Monday morning?" he moaned. "That's like some form of torture!"

"Positive thinking, Ron," Hermione sighed with a roll of her eyes as she plastered a piece of toast with marmalade. Just as Ron opened his mouth to snap back at her, Oliver Wood dropped into the chair beside him, his eyebrows pulled into a frown as he looked between Harry and me.

"You look awful, Williams," he scowled.

"So I'm told," I grumbled under my breath.

"You'd better get down to the hospital wing," he instructed me sharply. "Quidditch practice starts tonight."

Ignoring Harry's sigh of relief, I gawped at Wood, rolling my eyes irritably. "It's the first day back, Wood! Why on _Earth_ would we need to start practice now?"

"We've had our names on that thing for the past two years, ever since Harry took the Seeker position," he glowered at me. "This is my last chance to win it, and I'm not letting _anything_ get in the way. We've had some bad luck the past couple of years, and I'm determined this year will be different."

Harry shot me a pitiful look, as if warning me to go easy on him in the nicest possible way. Groaning under my breath, I drained the last of the water from my goblet. "You'd better ask McGonagall to write Snape a note then," I frowned. "He won't be happy I'm missing his first lesson for a health check."

Wood's face split into a grin and he jumped to his feet, almost racing up to the top table where McGonagall had settled to her breakfast. Beside me, Harry scoffed. "So you wouldn't go to the hospital wing if I asked you, but you'll go for Wood?"

"Do you, or do you not want to win the Cup this year?" I snapped at him. He arranged his expression into a fake look of innocence. Rolling my eyes, I shouldered my bag and started out of the Great Hall.

Madam Pomfrey wasn't the only one in the hospital wing when I pushed the doors open, and just as I thought my luck couldn't get any worse, I noticed it was Lupin she was stood having a conversation with in low, hushed whispers.

The doors closed loudly behind me, and both of them jumped and turned around.

"Williams," Madam Pomfrey blinked, scanning my bleak, pale expression. "What on Earth happened to you?"

I sighed heavily as she scurried forward, taking my shoulders carefully and steering me toward the end of the furthest bed. "Nothing," I assured her. "I'm fine. But Wood decided we have to start Quidditch practice tonight, so he made me come down."

"You're on the Quidditch team?" Lupin blurted with a frown.

"Somewhat reluctantly," I admitted, shifting slightly.

"Well I doubt you'll be up to flying tonight, Williams," Madam Pomfrey frowned, and I dropped my bag by the end of the bed dejectedly. "Probably just a touch of flu, but you can never be too careful. You haven't been in any trouble over the holidays, have you?"

My mouth suddenly went dry. "Depends on your definition of trouble," I grimaced.

"The regular kind," Lupin replied dryly, massaging his temples with an exasperated look.

There was a short pause as I debated what to tell them. If Madam Pomfrey decided on a check-over, I might have been in trouble. There was no way I could keep the tattoo from her if she rolled my sleeve up to check my pulse. "Nothing life threatening," I shrugged eventually.

I could tell neither Lupin nor Madam Pomfrey believed me. "Then it looks like you'll just have to ride it out," she grimaced at me. "I have some potion that might relieve some of the symptoms. But I don't want to hear about you messing around at Quidditch practice if you aren't up to it, alright? The last thing I need is to be mending your bones again. And the same goes for Potter!"

I managed a weak smile as I took the small goblet of potion from her hands. "I'll keep that in mind," I promised, draining the goblet in one gulp and handing it back to her. "Thanks, Madam Pomfrey."

"And don't forget you have detention tonight," Lupin reminded me with a frown. "Ten o'clock."

I blinked. "I thought you said eight?"

He raised an eyebrow with the smallest trace of a smile. "Wouldn't want to upset Mr Wood now, would we?"

"Erm, thanks Professor," I replied uncertainly, scooping my bag up and hurrying out of the hospital wing before he could change his mind.

With nothing better to do, I ended up returning to my Potions class, half of which I had now missed. Fortunately, since Harry had delivered a note explaining my absence – which Wood had gotten from Dumbledore, not McGonagall – he could do nothing but glower as I slipped into my usual seat beside Harry.

"Everything alright?" he quizzed the second I'd dumped my bag down beside my chair.

I nodded. "Just flu, according to Pomfrey. But Lupin was there too. Heard we were at Quidditch practice tonight and moved my detention back to ten so I could go."

Harry stared. "Really? Maybe he isn't that bad after all."

"I don't know," I frowned, flicking through my Potions book. "Don't you get the feeling there's something he's hiding?"

"Like what?"

"If I knew that Harry, I wouldn't have asked," I pointed out with a roll of my eyes.

Harry was interrupted before he could reply. "Williams!" Snape barked angrily from the front of the class. "Just because you've arrived late doesn't mean you can distract the rest of the class! Ten points from Gryffindor."

Sharing an exasperated look with Harry, I ended up helping him with his Potion, since it was pointless starting my own with the time we had left in lesson. We spent most of the time running through Quidditch tactics, which I forced myself to pay attention to. Wood was that determined to win the Cup this year, he'd even managed to get me interested.

After Potions, Harry, Ron and Hermione set out for the first Divination class, while I sloped off to the Arithmancy class on the second floor. It wasn't until I chosen a seat at the back of the class and started to pull my book out of my bag that I realised Hermione was sat right next to me, slightly out of breath and with a wry look about her.

"Hermione," I started, glancing around the room cautiously.

"Artemis," she replied with a tight smile.

"Aren't you supposed to be in Divination?" I frowned.

"Don't be silly," she dismissed easily. "You know I'm taking Arithmancy this year."

"Yeah, _and_ Divination," I persisted. "How on Earth-" I was cut off as Professor Vector cleared her throat loudly, eyeing her new class with a stern, sharp expression. Suddenly, Hermione's attention was devoted entirely on the teacher.

It was the same in our Ancient Runes class. Despite the fact I knew she had another lesson somewhere else, having seen her timetable at breakfast that morning, she still arrived at class just in time to hear Professor Babbling start her lecture.

"Hey Harry!" I called as I hurried into the Great Hall for lunch. Harry and Ron barely glanced up as I dropped into the seat beside them, greedily reaching out for a handful of cheese and tomato sandwiches. "Was Hermione in your Divination class this morning?"

"Yeah," Ron frowned. "You saw her leave Potions with us."

"I know," I scoffed in disbelief. "But she was sat right next to me in Arithmancy the moment I turned around."

"How's that possible?" Harry blinked.

"Beats me," I shrugged. "But she didn't miss Ancient Runes either, and I can almost guarantee that Muggle Studies is on at the same time." Harry and Ron exchanged a mystified look, but before we could get into the discussion any more, Wood dropped down into the seat opposite me and suddenly started rhyming off schedules that Harry and I had to stick to. He didn't seem very impressed when I told him that I had detention with Lupin that night as well as Wednesday night, but cheered up a bit when I added that Lupin had already delayed one so he might agree to do the same on Wednesday.

"Defence Against the Dark Arts next," Hermione's voice came, and I almost jumped out of my skin as I turned and saw her sat right beside me. She was smiling from ear to ear, her bag bulging with books for various subjects. Without look at me, she piled her plate high with tuna sandwiches and pulled out her Arithmancy book, standing it up against her goblet. "Do you think Lupin's any good?"

I stared at her for a moment, then shook myself and picked up another sandwich. "Can't be any worse that Lockhart," I pointed out sourly.

"If he is, Dumbledore should really get his act together," Harry snorted. "Between Lockhart and Quirrell, he hasn't exactly had the best of luck, has he?"

"Come on then," Ron sighed heavily. "Better get moving before we're late."

The room was almost full when we arrived, so the four of us picked a spot at the back of the room and slid into our seats, fishing out our parchment, books, quills and ink as we waited for Lupin to arrive. Everyone was murmuring to themselves, some still pouring over the latest news on Sirius Black in the _Daily Prophet._

Nobody realised Lupin had even entered until he called for everyone's attention. "Right, class!" he exclaimed, smiling widely and clapping his hands together as he strode into the room. Everyone fell silent, turning to watch him straighten his tatty, worn robes and place his battered briefcase onto the desk. "Please pack away your parchment and books, you'll only be needing is your wands today."

"A practical lesson, sir?" Seamus blurted with a flinch. A murmur of unease ran around the classroom.

Lupin raised an eyebrow, scanning the room in mild amusement. "Something wrong, Seamus?"

"We had a practical lesson with our last teacher once," he grimaced.

"Just once?" Lupin frowned.

"Trust me, Professor, once was enough with Lockhart," Harry scoffed.

Lupin smiled. "Well I can assure you, you'll all be perfectly fine."

"That's what Lockhart said, sir," Neville gulped, shuddering violently. I pursed my lips to stop myself smirking.

To my surprise, Lupin laughed. "Then I suppose you'll have to trust me, Neville. If you'll follow me." Slightly hesitantly, the class placed their books back into their bags and took out their wands, standing to follow Lupin out of the classroom.

The entire class marched along the corridors behind Lupin, muttering amongst themselves with questions about where we were going and what we were doing. As it turned out, we were heading toward the staff room, though for what, I wasn't entirely sure. Hesitating a moment, Lupin cast a cautious glance back at the class before he pushed the door open and let us all inside.

Snape, who was sat in an armchair by the fire with a book on his lap, locked his jaw at the sight of us all, and something like loathing flashed in his eyes as he met Lupin's gaze. I couldn't help biting my lip, nudging Harry and jerking my head between Snape and Lupin. He raised an eyebrow. "What do you reckon that's all about?" he muttered.

"Beats me," I shrugged. "But suddenly, I'm liking Lupin a lot more." Harry grinned at me.

"Leave the door open, Lupin, I'd rather not witness this," Snape said sourly. Lupin stepped away from the doorway, still holding it open, and Harry, Ron, Hermione and I had to jump out of the way as Snape strode angrily past us.

"So," Lupin smiled, letting the door close and stepping further into the room. "Who can tell me what a Boggart is?" Instantly, Hermione's hand shot up beside me and I had to shift to the side to avoid being hit by her elbow. Lupin smiled wryly. "Hermione?"

"It's a shape-shifter sir," she answered with a smug smile. "It will take the shape of whatever you fear the most." At that, I gave an involuntary shudder. Frowning in confusion, I straightened out and took a deep breath, trying to focus on what Lupin was saying.

"Excellent! Ten points to Gryffindor," Lupin beamed at her. "Now, who can tell me what our advantage is? Harry?"

Harry started, shaking himself with a frown. "Err, there are too many of us for the Boggart to scare," he answered cautiously.

Lupin nodded, still smiling. "Ten more points for Harry," he acknowledged. "So, who's first?" Nobody seemed overly eager to step up first, which I figured was fair enough. Who would volunteer to see their greatest fear in a classroom?

"Oh, come on now," Lupin chuckled. "Neville? How about you?" Neville whimpered, quivering slightly as he took a step forward. Watching him shake, I suddenly wished I'd volunteered.

"Now then Neville," Lupin started kindly. "What scares you the most?" Neville mumbled something under his breath, and Lupin strained with a small frown. "Speak up please, Neville."

"Professor Snape," he said reluctantly. A few people sniggered. Lupin, however, tried to smile but ended up smirking. Harry and I exchanged a surprised glance.

"He is reasonably scary," Lupin acknowledged with a strange chuckle.

"He's definitely growing on me," I hissed at Harry, who snorted a little too loudly. Lupin cast us a questioning look, but we both straightened our expressions and smiled innocently at him.

"Now," Lupin continued. "I hear you live with your grandmother?" Neville's eyes widened, looking even more worried. "Concentrate on this." He leant closer and whispered something in Neville's ear, and if possible, Neville's eyes widened even more. Lupin straightened out after he'd finished, smiling oddly. "The incantation is _Riddikulus!_ Ready?"

Slowly, Neville nodded and Lupin took a step back beside the rest of the class, taking out his wand and pointing it at a wardrobe that said at the furthest end of the room. With a flick of his wrist, sparks flew from Lupin's wand and hit the doorknob, causing the wardrobe door to creak open loudly.

The sight of Professor Snape stepping out of the wardrobe, his eyes narrowed and his greasy hair plastered to the side of his face, made Neville whimper loudly and take a shaky step backward. "Remember the incantation, Neville!" Lupin called, and without any more encouragement, Neville lifted his wand with a quivering arm.

_"R-Riddikulus!"_ he stammered. A loud crack echoed around the room, and Snape was suddenly dressed in an awful fur coat, a tall pink hat complete with stuffed vulture, and carrying a red handbag. The class erupted into fits of laughter, and Ron had to hold onto my arm to keep himself upright.

"Seamus! Forward!" Lupin exclaimed, his shoulders shaking in amusement as he stared at the Boggart Snape.

This continued for a while. Seamus faced a mummy that spun on its feet rapidly unravelling itself. Next up was Parvati, who's severed hand crept creepily along the floor like a crab, until it was caught in a mousetrap.

"Good, Parvati! Ron!" Lupin encouraged. With a crack, the hand had turned into a large spider. Several people screamed. Ron looked ready to faint, but stepped forward with his wand raised.

_"Riddikulus!"_ he yelled. Another crack and the spider's legs vanished. The class laughed loudly, but the body was rolling . . . heading straight for me.

There was yet another crack and the room was filled with a blinding, golden light, radiating from a figure a few feet in front of the wardrobe. It was on its hand and knees, clearly in agony. My eyes widened and my heart pounded as the figure clawed at their own chest, right above their heart. Suddenly, I felt my body shut down.

Another crack broke the air like a whip as my knees crashed to the ground. I saw Lupin stood a little in front of me, a glowing, silver orb hung in the air.

_"Riddikulus!"_

"Artemis!"

Terrified whispers spread like wildfire in the room as the orb burst like a balloon, making a rather rude, childish noise. Harry, Ron and Hermione knelt beside me, their expressions worried and pale. Gulping as a light-headed feeling swept over me, I took a deep breath and tried to stumble to my feet, but my legs were too weak and gave way beneath me. Harry caught me before I crashed to the ground again, stumbling under my weight when I failed to take any at all.

"I'm fine," I murmured quietly, despite the fact that Harry still had to hold me upright while I desperately tried to calm my heart rate down. I was well aware that I neither sounded nor looked fine. My stomach was clenched so tightly, I was actually scrunching my body up as I shook with an irrational fear.

What scared me the most was that I had no idea why I would be scared of a golden light, and how the mere sight of it made me so weak.

"Harry, take her outside," Lupin instructed, his face pale. I glanced across at Harry, but his face was set and he led me through the murmuring class without hesitating. As soon as the door was shut behind us, I pushed myself out of Harry's arms, stumbled slightly, and slide to the floor against the wall. I curled up tightly and hid my face from view.

"Hey, it's fine Arty," Harry said softly, draping an arm over my shoulder comfortingly. "It's fine."

"No it bloody isn't," I whimpered, reaching an arm out and punching him weakly. "What the hell was that? Why the hell am I scared of a bloody gold light?"

There was a long, uncomfortable pause. "I was kinda hoping you'd be able to tell me," he answered uncertainly.

I snorted. "Yeah right. Between this and the tattoo, I have no idea what's happening anymore."

"Point," Harry muttered. "Arty . . . maybe we should speak to Dumbledore about that."

I lifted my head out of my arms and glanced sideways at him. I wasn't entirely sure what he saw, but he flinched slightly, shifting on the spot. "I don't know, Harry. Don't you get the feeling that it's just . . . wrong?"

"Well, yeah," he admitted reluctantly. "But look at you, Arty. Our first day back, and you're a mess! No offence," he added hurriedly with a shaky smile.

"I just think we should figure this out ourselves, Harry," I murmured, trying not to show how upsetting I found the idea of turning to Dumbledore. I knew I should be out of my mind and demanding answers by now with everything that was happening, but I couldn't shift the feeling that this was personal, between me and Harry and it had nothing to do with anyone else.

Pursing his lips, Harry pushed himself back to his feet and opened the door to the staff room. I heard him mutter something at Lupin, and a mumbled reply. Without a word, Harry shut the door again and held out a hand to help me up.

"Told Lupin I was taking you to the hospital wing," he told me with a frown. "If you aren't going to Dumbledore, you're at least having the rest of the day on bed rest."

I snorted as I took the hand he offered me, letting him help me to my feet. "Oliver isn't going to be happy about that," I grimaced.

"Forget about Wood," Harry dismissed easily. "I'll sort it. Besides, it's the first day back and you're the best Chaser we have. Missing one practice can't hurt."

"Aww, you'll be making me blush next, Potter," I scoffed quietly, wincing as he helped me walk slowly down the corridor.

His lips twitched into a smirk. "You never blush, Williams. Sounds like a challenge."

I didn't like the glint in his eyes as he spoke.


	10. Nine: Bleeding Ink

Madam Pomfrey agreed with Harry by the time we got to the hospital wing, but within the space of an hour, I felt much better and was starting to fidget in my bed, anxious to get out. I was even prepared to play a few hours of Quidditch if it meant leaving this place.

"I was just shook up," I insisted as the bell gave a shrill ring for the end of the last lesson of the day. "Please, Madam Pomfrey, I promise, I'll drop by for a check-up the moment I'm done and the rest of the team will be there to look out for me."

"Williams, Wood is too determined to win the Cup to think about much else," Madam Pomfrey snapped impatiently.

"Harry isn't," I rushed quickly. "You saw him earlier, he'd drag me here if he had to. Please? I'm going mad just sitting here!"

She straightened from the bed she was making, scowling at me as she scanned my expression. "One toe out of line, Williams," she warned under her breath, pointing a finger at me in warning.

I was so happy, I could have hugged her. Snatching my bag off the floor with a wide grin, I flung it over my shoulder and raced out of the room. "Thanks, Madam Pomfrey!" She grumbled something back at me, but I was already out into the hall, bolting up toward the Gryffindor common room.

As I reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, it swung open of its own accord and a grim looking Harry stepped through with Ron and Hermione right behind him.

"Hey," Ron grinned. "We were just coming to see you before the feast."

"No need," I smiled. "Madam Pomfrey let me out for Quidditch practice and Lupin's detention."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Hermione frowned in concern. "You didn't look so good earlier."

"I was just shook up," I shrugged. "I'd barely been there for an hour and I felt better. Whatever it was, it's gone now and I want to carry on like normal, okay? That means stuffing my face at the feast then making myself sick at Quidditch practice."

Harry snorted. "So long at it isn't on one of us again, fine." I smirked at him, slipping past the three of them to drop my bag off in the dormitory. I ran into a few people in the common room who asked if I was alright, but I just smiled and dismissed their concerns easily before meeting with Harry, Ron and Hermione again outside.

The Feast passed by noisily and with many jokes, courtesy of Fred and George, usually at the expense of Percy or Wood. Everyone seemed to be a lot more relaxed. Even Hermione took a moment away from her books. By the time Harry and I were heading down to the Quidditch pitch with the rest of the team, I could barely remember the Boggart at all.

Wood bored us all to tears in the changing rooms while he ran through tactics over and over again. Apparently, we were facing Slytherin in our first match, and since their players were prone to breaking every rule imaginable, we had to be on top form. Fred and George were almost asleep by the time we were finally allowed out onto the pitch, and Wood was still hissing at Harry about how to get the better of Malfoy, the Slytherin Seeker.

"Angelina! Katie! Artemis!" Wood started yelling as the three of us attempted to mount our brooms.

"Here we go," Katie Bell grumbled at me with a roll of her eyes. I smirked slightly, but said nothing as Wood marched toward us, his face set in determination.

"You're going to have to pick up the pace," he told us. "Fast, evasive play. I want them all so annoyed, they're can't see past the red mist, got it?"

"Antagonising seven Slytherins," I sighed heavily. "It's like I was born to do this." Angelina and Katie laughed at me as the three of us mounted our brooms and kicked off from the ground.

Wood put us through our paces for almost three hours. He worked with Harry on techniques for his Seeker position, while Fred and George pelted Angelina, Katie and me with two Bludgers to sharpen our reflexes the hard way. Of course, they never aimed for us, just in our direction, and all the while, the three of us had to keep hold of the Quaffle and move between both ends of the pitch.

After we'd finished with that nearly two hours after the start of practice, Wood let us have a five minute break before letting the Snitch out for Harry to chase, conjuring targets for Fred and George to aim their shots at and taking his position by the goalposts so that Angelina, Katie and I could test _his_ reflexes.

"At least we get to give him a taste of his own medicine," Angelina chuckled at me as Katie launched the Quaffle straight at the weak spot we'd found in Wood's vision. "The guys have no chance."

"That really depends," I grimaced watching Wood dive for the Quaffle as Harry sped past with a determined expression. "We could always use him as a moving target for Fred and George."

She laughed at me, ignoring Wood's miss and the resulting groan from Katie. "So it's just Harry then?"

I shrugged a shoulder at her with a wink, lunging forward to catch the Quaffle and take Katie's spot in front of the goalposts. "He'll live."

"HEARD THAT!" Harry yelled as he bolted past, forcing me to dip down to avoid colliding with him. I shot him a glower that he couldn't see, before turning to take my shot at Wood.

When we finally got back into the changing rooms, all seven of us were out of breath and exhausted, but satisfied with how training had gone. None of us, however, were very pleased to hear that we were required in training three times a week for the next month, when it would be increased to five.

"This is insane," I groaned at Harry as the whole team hiked back up toward the castle.

"Yeap," he nodded with a heavy sigh. "And you're running late for your detention with Lupin." Starting with a curse, I hurriedly shoved my broom into Harry's arms and yelled an apology at Wood before he could start pulling apart my performance on the pitch.

By the time I was skidding into Lupin's office, I was ten minutes late and gasping for breath. "Sorry I'm late, Professor," I choked as I shouldered the door open. "I was just finishing pra-"

I cut off as I caught sight of Snape, perched in a chair in front of Lupin's desk with a smug look on his face. Glancing back at me coolly, he pushed himself to his feet and straightened out his robes. "I'll be keeping an eye out, Lupin," he said in a drawling voice. It sounded oddly like a threat, and from the look on Lupin's face, I hadn't been wrong. Without another word, Snape spun on his heel and pushed his way past me.

"Is everything okay, Professor?" I frowned, closing the door behind him and inching closer to the desk cautiously.

"Um? Oh, of course," he smiled distractedly. "Now, how can I help you?"

I blinked. "I'm here for detention, Professor."

Lupin looked mildly surprised. "Oh . . . of course. Well, it's getting late and you've had a rough day, perhaps we should rearrange for tomorrow?"

I stared at him in shock. It took me a moment or two to be able to speak, and when I did, I found myself frowning at him in confusion. "What? Professor, honestly, I have never been let off so easily for attacking a Slytherin before in my life." Lupin sent me a stunned look, his eyes wide. "Not that I do it frequently!" I rushed with my hands held out in defence.

He didn't look like he believed me, rolling his eyes wryly. "I believe that today, after the day you have had, we can make an exception. Don't ever let me catch you attacking a student again."  
"Sure," I nodded with a small smirk. "You won't catch me." He raised an eyebrow at me. "Kidding, Professor."

"Why don't I believe you?" he mumbled, shaking his head exasperatedly.

"I wouldn't know, Professor," I sighed.

"I'll see you in tomorrow's lesson, Artemis," he said, trying and failing to conceal a smile. "Until then, I suggest you get some rest. You look shattered."

"Quidditch practice," I dismissed with a yawn. "Oliver Wood kept us out on the pitch for three hours, _and_ he's making us do it three times a week until next month, _then_ five times a week until the season's finished."

"Sounds tiring," he agreed. "May I ask why you agree to play the game if it annoys you so much?"

I thought about it for a long time, trying to find any answer that didn't involve Harry. It worried me slightly that I couldn't think of a single one. "I don't mind it so much," I shrugged eventually, and Lupin gave me a strange look, his eyes shining. "Honestly, I like playing it, I just can't stand the analysis afterward. And it's all anyone ever talks about."

"It can get a little wearing," he nodded with a small chuckle. "However, I hear the Gryffindor team is the best side at Hogwarts these days."

"Um," I replied. "Has been since Harry took the Seeker position. He hasn't lost a match yet, unless you count the one he was unconscious for in the first year, or the ones we missed last year when the season was cancelled."

"I guess you couldn't," Lupin laughed. "And you're a Chaser, I hear?"

"Yeah," I grimaced. "A girl called Alicia Spinnet got injured in practice before the season started last year, and over the summer, I'd made the mistake of playing with Harry and the Weasley's. Fred and George told Wood, and I'd have never heard the end of it if I'd said no. They were determined to win."

"Well, I'll be sure to watch your first match," he smiled. "Until then, you should get some rest. Sounds like you have a lot of practice to be getting on with."

"Yes, Professor," I sighed wryly. "Goodnight, sir."

"Goodnight, Artemis."

Smiling once in Lupin's direction, I let myself out of his office and started back down the corridor toward the common room. Only then did I realise my left forearm felt strangely numb. Looking down, I was startled to see blood staining the sleeve of my robe. A lump formed in my throat, but instead of turning for the hospital wing, I set out in a run toward the common room, my feet pounding the stone floors as I held my left forearm to my stomach. I almost yelled the password at the Fat Lady, who grumbled something about me being rude before swinging open and letting me jump inside.

The common room was deserted, all apart from three figures huddled around the fireplace, which was roaring animatedly in the background, casting a golden glow over the room. All of them looked up as I entered, and Harry leapt to his feet, his face chalky white and his hand clamped over his forearm. Blood was trickling between his fingers.

"Oh my," Hermione muttered, pushing herself to her feet and steering me toward the chair beside Harry. "Look at the two of you!"

"This is messed up," Ron scoffed.

"You think?" Harry spat irritably, falling down beside me. "Tomorrow, we start looking for whatever the hell is causing this."

"Right," I mumbled. "I didn't even realise it was bleeding until I left Lupin's office. If he had seen this . . ."

"But he didn't," Harry pointed out softly, his irritation dying down slightly as he looked at me. I wasn't sure why I couldn't muster the same anger he could, especially since it usually came so easy, but right now, all I felt was a panic gripping my chest tightly. "We'll figure it out, Arty," he assured me.

I gulped and nodded, trying to ignore the way Ron and Hermione exchanged a bewildered look. "Until then, at least let me bandage it," Hermione pleaded, shaking herself and gently pulling my forearm away from my stomach. I winced through my teeth, but watched her roll the sleeve back and reach back toward a bowl of water and cloth I hadn't seen before. Ringing the cloth out tightly, she gently wiped away as much blood as she could and wrapped it up before turning to Harry.

"The dressing might need changed tomorrow morning," she muttered at us. "Just be careful."

"I really hope it's as easy as it sounds," I sighed.


	11. Ten: Buckbeak

Our first lesson the next morning was Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid. Harry couldn't seem to meet my gaze all morning, and Hermione had insisted on changing the bandages on our arms. Luckily, it looked like they'd stopped bleeding, but since we still had no idea why they were there in the first place, I kept expecting to look down and see my sleeve dripping in blood again.

"So, Care of Magical Creatures first?" I questioned awkwardly as the four of us stood up from breakfast, slinging our bags over our shoulders. Ron and Hermione exchanged an awkward look, but Harry cleared his throat and kept his gaze straight ahead.

"It's Hagrid's first lesson with us," he commented in monotone. "I hope he isn't doing anything dangerous."

Ron let out a nervous laugh. "Dangerous? It's like you don't know him at all." Hermione scowled at him as we stepped out of the castle, starting down the grass and toward Hagrid's hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

Before we'd even got halfway, a shrilly cackle made me flinch violently.

I glared across the grounds at Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson, who hadn't seen us coming yet. Parkinson was, of course, practically drooling over Malfoy. Crabbe and Goyle, Malfoy's bodyguards, were stood at either side of him, looking at Parkinson with a mixture of curiosity and disgust.

"Get a room, would you?" I cringed as we walked by. "I'd like to keep my breakfast down this morning."

Parkinson gave me a look of disgust, but Malfoy smirked. "Finished running from Boggarts Williams?" he sneered.

"Finished running from your shadow Malfoy?" Harry snarled, coming to a halt beside the Gryffindors already waiting.

Malfoy's smirk faltered, but not for long. "How you two are still alive is beyond me," he said through his nose, holding his head high. "One scared of a Boggart and one scared of the Dementors. Bet they're dead by the time they get to fourteen."

In the same second, Harry and I had taken out our wands and held them at Malfoy. Parkinson squealed and ran to hide with her friends as Crabbe and Goyle took out their wands too, their faces contorted with anger. Ron and Hermione tensed, but I waved them away smirking.

"They don't know which end of the wand is which," I sneered.

"Who wants to bet the likelihood that you survive the day?" Harry spat at Malfoy, who was slowly turning white. My eyes narrowed and flicked to his hand, which was slowly moving to his back pocket.

"_Expelliarmus!_" I exclaimed and Malfoy's wand flew into the air. With his Seeker skills, Harry caught it easily before I could even consider it.

"_Stupefy!_" Crabbe and Goyle shouted, wands pointed at me.

"_Protego!_" The spells hit the shield and I stumbled back a few inches. "_Bombarda!_"

The three Slytherins were blown off their feet and slammed into the ground. I took a step forward but Harry grabbed my arm and pulled me back to his side, scowling down at Malfoy and his bodyguards. I had to grit my teeth to stop myself wincing as his fingers tightened around my bandage.

"I think you got them Arty," he said quietly.

I frowned down at them, watching as they struggled to stand up. "Little advice for the future Malfoy," I sighed. "Before you start having a go, remember that you can't fight your way out of a wet paper bag. Next time, you might not wake up for a few days." I turned and reluctantly went to meet Harry, Ron and Hermione. Hermione gave me a disapproving look, but said nothing.

Right on cue, Hagrid burst out of his cabin, beaming at everyone. "Well, follow me everyone!"

Harry cast me an anxious glance, but I was still scowling at the Slytherins, who were now getting to their feet slowly. Harry pushed me a little and I followed Hermione to the outskirts of the Forest. Hagrid led us around it for a while, before coming to a large paddock.

"Line up around the gate please," Hagrid called gruffly. I leaned heavily against the fence, resting my chin on my arms. "Oh, and you'll need your books too?"

"How are you supposed to open it?" Malfoy called rudely, taking out his book which he tied with rope. I bit my lip, scowling again. The boy never learned.

"You haven't opened them?" Hagrid asked slowly, his nerves showing. I gulped as he looked towards us. We shook our heads slowly and I grimaced. "Well, you stroke them!"

I took out my own copy of _The Monster Book of Monsters, _bound with my belt and tilted it on its side. Slowly, I undid the belt and, before it could bite me, ran a hand down its bind. It quivered in my hand and opened obediently. It lay still in my hand.

"Different," I murmured, flicking through the pages without any actual interest. I could still feel Hagrid's eyes on us.

"I thought it was funny," Hagrid mumbled.

Malfoy scoffed. "Yes, hilarious," he sneered. My hands tightened on the fence and I was sure I heard the wood crack slightly. My knuckled were pure white. I was waiting for Hermione to tell me to calm down, but she was scowling at Malfoy with just as much anger as I had.

"I'll just be a second," Hagrid called nervously. "No one move." He strode to the far end of the paddock and out of sight. Malfoy snorted loudly, strutting his way to the fence beside the other Slytherins. I frowned and shifted slightly. There was a clear divide between the Gryffindors and Slytherins. Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and Blaise Zabini stood nearest to the Gryffindors, me, Harry, Ron and Hermione closest to them.

"This place has gone to the dogs," Malfoy snarled. I had to purse my lips to stop myself laughing. Why the hell was that funny?

"Go to hell," Hermione spat. I raised an eyebrow at her, but she didn't even look at me. I also noticed she was clutching her wand tightly. I couldn't help smirking.

"Don't speak to us like that Mudblood," Zabini growled.

Not a second had passed before I had Zabini at wand point, but he wasn't as stupid as Malfoy. The tips of our wands dug into the others throat uncomfortably and I heard movement behind me.

"Never call her that again," I snarled with narrowed eyes. Zabini snorted, digging his wand further into my throat. I imitated him.

"Hey, hey!" I didn't turn as Hagrid hurried toward us, holding multiple reins. "Wands away! No need for that."

"Yes there is," Zabini and I spat, not moving. The blood in my veins boiled as I looked at him. If looks could kill, he'd have been dead a while ago.

"Arty, wand away. You too, Zabini," Hagrid said, sounding more like a teacher than I thought possible. I took a small step back, wand still. Zabini narrowed his eyes, slowly lowering his. I felt someone pull me back and I stuffed my wand in my pocket again. Slytherins today just seemed to be asking for it.

"Leave it," Hermione said sternly, moving to stand between me and the Slytherins. I grunted once and rested my chin on my arms again. I wasn't in a good mood today anyway, the last thing I needed was problems with the Slytherins.

"Well!" Hagrid started. I looked up and raised my eyebrows. Four huge creatures were tied up beside him. They seemed to be half horse, half bird. But, after the shock had faded, they looked kind of cool. Gorgeous really.

"Hippogriffs!" Lavender gasped. "But aren't they dangerous?" she whimpered. I groaned quietly, banging my forehead into my arms. Beside me, Harry mumbled something dark under his breath.

"Of course not!" Hagrid chuckled. "But, first thing you should know is they're proud creatures. Easily offended. So don't ever insult one because it might be the last thing you do."

"Brilliant," Ron grumbled with a knowing look at me, Harry and Hermione.

"Always wait for the Hippogriff to make the first move, 'cause it's polite see? You walk toward him and bow. If he bows back, you can touch him. If not, move before he hurts you 'cause those talons are sharp. So, who wants to go first?"

The entire group took a step back, all apart from me, Harry, Ron and Hermione. I straightened out immediately, glaring back at the group. "Wimps," I frowned.

"I'll do it," Harry volunteered.

"Ooh, Harry!" Lavender gasped, clamping her hands over her mouth with wide shining eyes. "Remember your tea leaves!"

"Tea leaves?" I snapped, scowling at Harry. He shrugged at me and leapt over the fence. I caught myself before I could say anything else. Slowly, I turned to face Hermione, eyebrows raised questioningly.

"It's nothing," she dismissed quickly. "Professor Trelawney is a fraud. She doesn't know what she's talking about."

"Hermione," I growled, clutching the fence tightly. Her eyes widened a fraction. "What did she say?"

Hermione took a small step away, shaking her head stubbornly. "You'll just go off on one! Harry can look after himself you know."

"I know," I frowned, glancing at Ron. He gulped, shaking his head. "Ron."

"She said he's going to die," he said hurriedly. "She's saw the Grim in his tea leaves." Hermione whipped around and scowled at him as I gawped.

"Die?" I exclaimed. A few people turned to gaze at me. Harry faltered on his way to one of the Hippogriffs. He glared back at Ron for a few seconds, before shaking himself and continuing toward one of the creatures. "Die?" I repeated weakly.

"Now look who won't survive the day," Malfoy's sneer came. Again, I snapped. I flew around, but before I could grab my wand, Ron and Hermione had taken me by the arms and pulled me back. Parkinson cackled as Malfoy and his cronies smirked at me triumphantly.

"Good Harry!" Hagrid's voice came. I gazed into the paddock and saw Harry stood beside the Hippogriff, eyes narrowed at me. I pulled myself out of Ron and Hermione's grasp moodily and straightened out again. "He might even let you ride him." The look on Harry's face clearly displayed his reluctance. Hagrid, however, seemed not to realise because he picked Harry up easily and put him on the Hippogriff's back. He smacked its hind and it reared up. Harry just had time to hang on before the creature had taken off.

"Bloody tea leaves," I mumbled angrily, resting again on the fence. Harry only flew around the paddock once before the Hippogriff landed again. It didn't take long and wasn't really interesting to watch. Hagrid helped Harry off the creature and turned back to us as Harry jumped back over the fence.

"You really need to calm down," he frowned at me.

I snorted. "So I'm having a bad day, sue me." He groaned and leant on the fence.

"So who's next?" Hagrid beamed. The class still seemed reluctant to move. I glanced at Harry, then turned to Ron and Hermione. Ron shrugged and Hermione sighed. Harry laughed.

"They'll do it," he said. I scowled at him, but leapt over the fence anyway. Hermione and Ron followed me without hesitating.

"Great!" Hagrid grinned. "Artemis, you go to Buckbeak over there. Hermione, Ron over here."

"Oh goodie," I mumbled, extremely quietly as I headed for the Hippogriff. Buckbeak stiffened as I moved nearer. I got as close as I dared, eyes locked on the creature. I bowed as low as I could, still staring at it. Almost instantly, Buckbeak knelt down on one knobbly knee. I straightened out, smiling a little. Buckbeak snapped his beak loudly and the class gasped. But he was only being playful as far as I could see, as he trotted closer and nudged me with his head. He snapped his beak again and I noticed Hagrid's worried look. My eyes widened but I raised a hand and stroked Buckbeak gently. He calmed, leaning down and resting the side of his head on my shoulder. I lifted my other hand so that I was holding his head carefully and stroked his neck. He was amazing.

"Good job Artemis!" Hagrid's amazed voice came. I chuckled, eyes on Buckbeak. If it were legal to keep this as pets, I'd have one. Maybe it was because he was half horse.

The rest of the class was climbing over the fence cautiously and Hagrid was splitting them between the Hippogriffs.

"Artemis, over the fence please," Hagrid called. Reluctantly, I slipped away from Buckbeak and jumped over the fence.

"Wow," Harry smirked. "Good with animals I take it."

"All but Hermione's stupid cat," I said. I rolled a sleeve back and showed him the latest cut Crookshanks had given me. He winced. I gazed up at Buckbeak, who was now kneeling to Malfoy. Poor thing.

"I don't know what all the fuss is about," Malfoy said dramatically. "You're not dangerous are you, you ugly brute?"

He didn't have chance to breath before Buckbeak snapped and reared onto its hooves. He swiped out at Malfoy. The class fell silent and some quickly moved away from their Hippogriffs. I watched as Hagrid wrestled with Buckbeak and slipped his collar back on. Slytherins shielded Malfoy from view, but Hagrid was panicking.

After a quick glance at Harry, we'd both jumped the fence. I raced toward Buckbeak, who refused to be restrained. He halted at the sight of me and I bowed again. And, again, Buckbeak bowed patiently before jumping to his feet and snapping playfully. I chuckled as I leaned against his feathery neck and stroked his head.

"Artemis, maybe you should leave him for a while," Hagrid said quietly.

I sighed. "Hagrid, Malfoy was just being stupid. Buckbeak is fine now and he's calming down." Hagrid gave me an uncertain look before Parkinson squealed. He turned and hurried to Malfoy, leaving me with Buckbeak.

"Well, at least you know the right people to attack," I said, smiling at Buckbeak. He leant away from me and snapped his beak again a few times. It looked like he was laughing.


	12. Eleven: The Fall Of Gryffindor

After an eventful first couple of days, the rest of the term passed by rather smoothly. Harry and I were soon kept out at Quidditch practice almost every night, despite the fact that all our teachers – especially Snape – piled so much homework on us I was beginning to think I had a constant migraine.

We'd also taken to spending any extra time we had in the library, pouring over every book about the more obscure areas of magic. Since many of these books belonged in the restricted section of the library, it usually involved Harry and I taking out his father's Invisibility Cloak and sneaking down there at night.

It was while we were down there one night my first _major_ problem of the year arose. Now you might think tattoos that bled appearing on your forearm would class as major, but honestly, I could deal with that because I knew, eventually, I'd get my answers, and whatever that answer was, it would have to be logical.

This _major_ problem wasn't.

"You know, I'm starting to think we're not going to find the answers here," Harry grumbled under his breath as we crept into the library, keeping as close together as we could. "We've been searching this place for weeks!"

"Do you have a better idea?" I snapped sourly.

"Yeah," he grunted. "Dumbledore." I shot him a warning look as we slipped into the Restricted Section, tugging the cloak off my shoulder and shoving it at him. "Alright!" he breathed as he appeared next to me. "Calm down!"

"Watch it, Potter," I scowled, taking my wand out of my back pocket and waving it threateningly in his direction. He held his hands out in surrender, but his expression was relaxed and a little amused. Clenching my fists, I lifted my wand up to the bookcases. _"Lumos!"_

We sat around one of the small tables for hours, occasionally irritating each other with snap comments or random facts we'd never heard before. Neither of us were in good moods, largely due to lack of sleep. I figured it didn't help matters much that we hadn't found a single word about what was happening to the two of us.

"That's it," Harry snapped as the clock finally reached three am.

I glanced up lazily from the book I'd been reading, rubbing sleep from the corner of my eyes. "What's it?" I yawned widely.

"I give up," he announced.

"Charming," I glowered, pushing the book I'd been reading away.

"We've been here for hours, Arty!" he breathed, a little wide eyed. "And that's just tonight! Face it, there is nothing here for us to find!"

"So what do you suggest, Harry? Live with it? Continue our lives blindly? Because honestly, I don't like being down here anymore than you do, but I can't keep this up!"

"Then we'll go to Dumbledore!" he exclaimed.

"And if he doesn't know?" I snarled. "He can't know _everything_!"

"He knows more than we do!" he argued.

"Fine!" I as good as yelled, jumping to my feet and snatching my wand off the table. "You want to go to Dumbledore? Go! If he knows anything useful, let me know. Other than that, don't bother."

Without waiting for an answer, I shoved the gate to the Restricted Section back open and stalked outside, not even caring that Harry had the Invisibility Cloak. All I could think was that I wanted to get as much space as humanly possible between me and him.

But just as I reached the library door, something hissed loudly. I cursed furiously as Mrs Norris, the caretaker's cat, flew past, streaking out of the door so fast her paws barely touched the floor. Setting my jaw, I ignored her and continued forward, half hoping Filch caught me just so that I could have someone to argue with.

"Are you insane?" Harry's hiss came, and before I could turn, his hand latched around my wrist and dragged me backward.

"Hey!" I complained loudly, stumbling as he shoved his way through a secret passage behind a tapestry, hauling me after him. Staggering through a cold, stone tunnel, I scowled and tried to yank my hand back. Harry just tightened his hold. "Would you _let go?" _He came to an abrupt halt right in front of me, causing me to fall straight into him. Letting out a frustrated yell, I smacked my palm into his shoulder as hard as I could. "You're impossible, you know that?"

"I was aware," he conceded coolly.

I took several deep breaths, glowering at him as he met my gaze unwaveringly, his green eyes shining strangely in the dark, damp light. "So what now?" I asked through my teeth. "We stand here all night until one of us backs down?"

He shrugged a shoulder. "Depends. You ready to admit I'm right without losing your temper?"

I let out a shock, irritable laugh. "Tell me you're kidding."

"Not in the slightest."

"You arrogant, self-centred-"

Harry cut me off before I could finish insulting him. By _kissing_ me.

I'll admit right now that people had frequently assumed that either I was crushing on Harry, or he was crushing on me. Or both. It was something both of us had quickly learnt to ignore, along with the many comments about how cute a couple we made. But Harry was actually kissing me, in the middle of some dingy, damp stone corridor at three o'clock in the morning.

The tapestry at the end of the corridor suddenly opened again, and Harry jumped back, snatched my hand up and raced through the corridor. My breath caught in my throat as I staggered after him, ignoring Filch's angry shouts. By the sounds of it, he was trying to follow us, but couldn't quite keep up. It didn't surprise me. I'd seen him run before.

Harry's hand never left mine as we raced through the open corridors, making so much noise I wasn't at all shocked when we ran headfirst into not one, but two teachers.

"Ah," Snape smirked, folding his arms over his chest and eyeing the hand Harry still had linked through mine. "Well, well, well, look who we have here." Beside him, Lupin sighed heavily. "Causing trouble again, are we?"

"Us?" I scoffed, snatching my hand back from Harry. "It's like you don't know us at all, Professor." Snape's eyes flashed.

"I think the two of you should get back to the common room," Lupin insisted sternly. "Now."

Harry and I started forward, but Snape threw his arm out in front of us, glowering furiously. "Neither of you are going anywhere until you tell me what you're doing out of bed at this time in the morning."

I felt myself go rigid in panic, and Harry's face suddenly set. "Same as you, I guess," he shrugged. "Couldn't sleep."

"Don't get smart with me, Potter," Snape spat. "Now, unless you want to go to the Headmaster-"

"It was my fault, Professor," I blurted, knowing full well that the Headmaster was the exact person Harry wanted to see most. The thought of it still made my stomach clench.

Lupin frowned slightly. "Your fault, Artemis?"

"I was starting to feel ill again," I lied quickly. "Harry was just making sure I went to the hospital wing."

"And Madam Pomfrey could verify this?" Snape sneered.

"No," I snapped, my fists clenching at my sides.

"Why ever not?" he snarled back sarcastically, scowling at me so intensely Harry actually shifted in front of me.

Pulling a face, I pushed Harry out of the way again. "Harry started lecturing me again," I shrugged. "Hermione and Ron have being doing it all night, Harry continued, and I got stubborn so I was going back to the common room."

"Is that so?" he scowled, glancing at Harry.

The boy locked his jaw, obviously not at all happy with being kept away from the Headmaster, again. Thankfully, his hatred for Snape seemed a lot stronger. "Yes, Professor," he sighed. "It is."

Snape knew we were lying. The problem was, he had no way to prove it. Just looking at his expression, demented with anger as he flicked his gaze between the two of us, almost made me laugh in triumph. "Get out of my sight," he spat in defeat, shoving his way between Harry and me and stalking down the corridor.

"He's in a good mood," I commented dryly.

Lupin shook his head. "The two of you should get to bed before he decides to give you detention anyway." He stepped to the side, waving toward the common room without looking at either of us. Pursing my lips, I started forward, Harry right behind me.

"Oh, and Harry? Artemis?" Lupin winced. We hesitated, glancing back. His eyes wouldn't stop flicking back and forth over the two of us. "It would be . . . unwise for the two of you to be wandering around at night this year."

Harry and I exchanged a meaningful look. "Any reason, Professor?"

Lupin shuffled, frowning. "It isn't safe for any student to be alone this year. Get back to the common room. Don't stop on the way. And _don't _creep around the castle at night again. Understand?"

We nodded. "Yes, Professor," I added. He scanned my expression as though he didn't believe me anyway, but let Harry and I turned around the walk away.

Neither of us said a word until we were back inside the common room, and Harry had thrown himself into the armchair by the fire with a scowl. His eyes were fixed on the flames, his fingertips drumming the arms of the chair anxiously. I hesitated by the sofa, unsure whether or not I should say something. After all, my best friend had just kissed me.

"We don't need to keep looking for answers," I told him quietly. "Not right now."

He didn't answer immediately, shifting on the spot anxiously. "So what next?"

I wasn't sure whether he was talking about the tattoos or the kiss. It made my stomach twisted sickeningly. "We carry on as normal," I shrugged, my voice catching in my throat. "If things get too bad . . . we go to Dumbledore," I finished with a heavy sigh.

Harry glanced up at me. "You sure?"

"No choice," I dismissed. "Right now, I'm going to bed." He nodded at me, grimacing as I spun around and took to the bottom of the stairs.

"Arty?"

"Yeah?" I gulped, stopping at the bottom of the stairs.

He shuffled, eyes flicking toward me then back again. "About earlier, in the passage-"

"Forget it," I interrupted. "Just . . . forget it, please." His eyebrows pulled together, but he nodded all the same and I turned back around, taking the stairs and praying silently that I could get some sleep tonight.

I should have realised that that wasn't ever going to happen.

Fortunately though, things calmed down considerably. Harry and I never spoke a word about what had happened in the library, and I quickly managed to keep Hermione quiet about searching for answers. I couldn't actually get her to stop though, which I didn't mind, and if ever I got frustrated with it all, it was always her that came with me to the library to search for something.

On the other hand, the Quidditch season was rapidly approaching, and before I could even blink, we were stood in the changing rooms receiving a pep talk from Wood before our first match.

The Slytherins had pulled out of the match, since Malfoy was still cradling his injury from Buckbeak. Harry hadn't stopped snapping irritable comments about it since Wood had told him, and I had a funny yet oddly disturbing feeling that it didn't help when Cedric Diggory made a point of coming to the Gryffindor table that morning to meet me.

"It's pretty poor conditions out there," Wood was saying at the entrance, peering out at the stadium.

"We live in Britain," I commented dryly. "I'm sure we're used to it." Fred and George snorted their agreement.

"Visibility won't be good," Wood continued, ignoring me and glaring at Harry's glasses.

Rolling my eyes, I snapped my fingers in front of Harry's face and held my hand out. "Glasses," I instructed. Harry blinked, but lifted his hands and took his glasses off, setting them on my palm. Snatching my wand from my bag beside my school robes, I tapped the glasses sharply. _"Impervius!" _

Harry squinted, taking the glasses back and putting them back on. "Nothing's different," he said.

"Of course it isn't," I sighed heavily. "Not yet. They'll repel the rain when you get out there though. Might actually be able to _see _the Snitch." I'd barely finished speaking when Wood pulled me into a bone crushing hug. "Wood!" I complained loudly, squirming as the rest of the team laughed loudly.

"You're amazing, Arty!" he beamed.

I pulled a face. "Yeah, well, don't we have a Quidditch match to win?" The team cheered again and, thankfully, Wood let me go to snatch up his broomstick and lead the team out into the elements.

I could barely hear the crowds cheers over the sound of the rain and the storm, but I could see them. In the distance, I could see Ron, Hermione, Dean, Seamus, Neville and a few others waving a large Gryffindor flag, wrapped up tightly in an attempt to shield themselves from the weather.

Wood shook hands with Diggory, and I found myself shifting strangely when the Hufflepuff captain flashed a smile in my direction. "Keep your head in it, Artemis!" Wood snapped as he past me. I scowled, mounting my broom and taking a deep breath.

The whistle blew, barely audible, and the teams kicked off from the ground. Immediately, I swerved a Hufflepuff chaser and snatched the Quaffle out of the air. "Artemis Williams kicks things off to a brilliant start for the Gryffindor team in the first match of the season!" Lee Jordan's voice came over microphone. "Probably a good thing Slytherin pulled out, what with her being in trouble for attacking a few again-"

"Jordan!" McGonagall snapped.

My lips twitched as I rolled to the left to avoid another Hufflepuff Chaser before launching the Quaffle straight at Katie Bell. She caught it with a grin and a wink, swerved the other two Chasers and launched it straight through the centre goal.

"BELL SCORES!" Lee Jordan shouted over the sudden roar from the Gryffindor crowd. "TEN POINTS FOR GRYFFINDOR!"

After that, the weather didn't really allow for a slow paced game. Wood kept screaming at Harry to find the Snitch, but there didn't seem to be any sign of it. Katie, Angelina and I, on the other hand, had never had a better match. Fred and George kept the Bludgers moving at the Hufflepuff team, who's Beaters seemed to have a difficult time keeping up. When the Chasers weren't swerving to avoid the Bludgers, they came face to face with one of the Gryffindors and only managed to slip through the net once, and even then Wood deflected the Quaffle right back at me.

Catching it, I had to dip to keep it from slipping from my grasp. Unfortunately, that meant I was flying right at two of the Hufflepuff Chasers. I'd barely caught sight of them when Angelina and Katie divided, confusing them enough for me to angle straight up and put on a burst of speed, flying straight over their heads, looping around the last Chaser and sending the Quaffle straight through the right hand goal.

"A STRAIGHT RUN FOR WILLIAMS!" Jordan was yelling, now so excited I could barely make out one word from the next. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT WOOD HAS THESE PLAYERS DOING, BUT I THINK IT'S FAIR TO SAY THEY'RE FLATTENING THE OPPOSITION! GRYFFINDOR LEAD HUNDRED POINTS TO NONE!"

I couldn't shift the wide smile off my face as I turned the broom around, already shooting back toward the main group to re-join the game. I hadn't even been flying for a minute, however, when a dark shadow suddenly past overhead.

Screams of horror suddenly filled the stadium, and my blood ran cold. My broom seemed to freeze under my fingers, and my breath caught in my throat. On instinct, I dived and rolled to get a look at what was going on. The moment my eyes fixed on the mass of Dementors swarming the stadium, a small whimper slipped my lips.

"EVERYONE DOWN!" Wood was ordering loudly. "LAND NOW! EVERYONE! MOVE!"

I didn't hesitate, reaching for the wand I always kept in my back pocket. Unfortunately, my Quidditch robes didn't have a back pocket. Cursing, I kept close to the Gryffindor squad, eyeing the faces in the group. Wood, Fred, George, Angelina, Katie . . .

The second my feet touched the floor, I bolted toward Wood. "Where's Harry?" I yelled at him over the noise, and he frowned, scanning the Gryffindor team. Slowly, I saw his face pale.

"He was right behind me," he muttered. "I'm sure he was . . ."

Just then, ear splitting screams sounded from every direction. I whipped around and my heart twisted. "Tell me that's not . . ." My words failed me, my stomach dropping through the ground as I watched an unconscious figure slumping against their broomstick, surrounded by Dementors. Seconds later, it slipped sideways and plummeted straight for the ground.

"HARRY!" I screamed, already bolting forward, my hand reaching for a wand that still wasn't there . . . until it latched around something that felt strangely like the exact wand I'd left in the changing rooms.

His figure was almost ten feet from the ground when I raised my wand, ignoring the burning in my left forearm. "MOBLICORPUS!" I yelled, and his body jerked to a halt, barely any higher than my kneecaps. Another whimper slipped from my lips as I raced forward, lowering him to the ground.

Teachers were bolting on to the pitch in the distance, heading straight for us, but I barely noticed. Taking a ragged breath, I crashed to my knees beside Harry's unconscious body, drenched from the rain and shivering in fear. A lump formed in my throat as I placed a hand to his pale face. Even my numb fingers could tell he was too cold, too lifeless . . .

"ARTEMIS!" Lupin's call came, and I felt him stagger to a halt as he lowered himself to the ground beside me, throwing his arms around me and pulling me away from Harry's unmoving form.

"Professor, he-" I cut off, aware my eyes were burning with hot, painful tears.

"He's just unconscious, Arty," Lupin muttered. "He'll be okay. Headmaster?"

I glanced up at Dumbledore, unable to stop several tears streaking down my cheeks. Dumbledore met my gaze unwaveringly, something like worry flashing across his face. "Get her to her feet, Remus," he instructed, and Lupin nodded, tightening his hold on me and pulling me up. I stumbled slightly when my feet planted on the floor, my head oddly light.

I refused to move until I'd seen Dumbledore conjure Harry on to a stretcher and march him off the pitch. Lupin kept us close behind, never once releasing any amount of grip on me, even when Hermione and Ron rushed toward us, with wide, fearful eyes. But I was glad. Every step I took seemed more painful than the last, until I realised I ached all over. The tears were streaming freely down my cheeks, and if I wasn't mistaken, my left forearm was bleeding uncontrollably again. One look ahead to see Harry lay on the stretcher confirmed this; his already scarlet robes were dripping in red blood.

A small whimper slipped my lips, and a sharp tug in my stomach made me stagger for a moment. Lupin immediately doubled his grip, hauling me to my feet with a concerned look. Doing some very quick, very panicked thinking, I took a shaky breath and met his gaze with watery eyes. "I'm fine, Professor," I said in a weak voice. "But Harry, he-"

Again, Lupin's grip tightened, and his gaze grew stern. "Listen to me, Artemis," he said sharply. "He'll be okay. He's just unconscious."

"But he looks like he's not breathing, I-"

"Artemis-"

"Please, Professor," I pleaded weakly, clutching his arm tightly. "I'm fine, just please make sure he's okay."

He hesitated, glancing between me and Harry. Without asking, I pulled myself away from him and staggered back into Ron and Hermione, both of whom instantly caught me and held on tightly.

"He's fine," Lupin insisted with a heavy sigh, but he still nodded dutifully and hurried forward a few paces to reach level with Harry and Professor Dumbledore.

The second he was out of earshot, I clutched Hermione's arm with a ragged gasp. "Hermione, my arm," I rushed with a wince.

I watched her face pale with a light feeling rushing through my head. "Oh my," she breathed wide-eyed, dropping her gaze to my forearm. Gulping hard, she fumbled for her wand in her pocket. "I can cover it up but . . . oh god, Arty what about Harry?"

"Sorted," I dismissed, stumbling a few more times. Ron wrapped an arm around my waist with a frown, his ears reddening in embarrassment. I managed a feeble smile. "You'd better not be getting any ideas, Weasley."

He flushed, muttering something under his breath. "Focus, Arty!" Hermione hissed. "What if-"

"Just clean and wrap this please," I mumbled, staggering again. "I think . . . blood loss . . ." She shot Ron a startled look, but hurriedly cleaned my sleeve and wrapped my arm.

We continued to stagger through the castle behind Lupin, Dumbledore and Harry until we reached the hospital wing. Harry was taken to the furthest bed and curtained off, while Hermione, Ron and I were perched on the edge of the next bed, much to Madam Pomfrey's dislike.

"He will be okay, won't he?" Hermione gulped in a whisper.

I shivered uncontrollably for a second, fixing my gaze on the curtain separating me from Harry. "He'd better be," I scowled. "Or I'll kill him myself."


	13. Twelve: Threatened

"What happened to him?" Angelina gulped, her eyes strangely watery. The entire Gryffindor team – minus Oliver Wood and plus Hermione and Ron – were sat around Harry's bedside, where the boy himself still lay pale and unconscious, still dressed in his Quidditch robes. Fortunately, Hermione had discreetly got rid of the blood stain on his left forearm sleeve, and his tattoo was wrapped tightly in a fresh bandage. In the background, Dumbledore and Lupin were talking to Madam Pomfrey in undertones, casting the occasional look in our direction. The way the sparkle had disappeared from Dumbledore's bright blue eyes and how Lupin had turned a few shades too pale worried me greatly, but I forced myself not to move from the armchair I'd pulled as close to Harry's bed as I could.

"Dementors," Ron told Angela quietly. "He's really no good around them. I can't believe they managed to get on the pitch!"

Fred snorted sourly, clapping me and Katie Bell on the shoulder. I flinched at the contact, gulping hard as Lupin shot me a sympathetic, terrified look. "The show these guys were putting on, it's no wonder. The Gryffindor's were cheering that much, I'm not surprised the Dementors couldn't resist. Everyone's spirits were too high for them."

"Makes sense," Hermione conceded with a reluctant nod. "But Dumbledore was furious. I've never seen him that mad before!"

"If I have to save Potter's life once more, I'll give furious a whole new meaning," I warned under my breath, and the Gryffindor team gave a dark scoff, obviously unsure whether I meant it or whether I was being dramatic. Hermione and Ron, on the other hand, shot me a worried glance, and behind them, Dumbledore's voice faltered a fraction. I ignored them all, curling up tighter in my armchair and laying my head across my knees, closing my eyes and breathing deeply.

No one said much that afternoon. Dumbledore disappeared after his hour long conversation with Madam Pomfrey and Lupin, though the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher didn't seem in any rush, insisting on staying to keep the crowd of curious visitors under control. I didn't for a second believe that was why he was still there, and the thought that he and Dumbledore suspected something did nothing to improve my mood.

Still, the Gryffindor team stuck around long enough to make sure I wasn't going to go on a mad rampage and mumbled a few words amongst each other, Hermione lectured Ron about his homework and Madam Pomfrey snapped irritably about the state of her clean floors after the dirty, wet Quidditch robes had dripped everywhere. A few of the Hufflepuff players came in to see what was happening – and to apologise for beating us so spectacularly after we'd built up such a good lead. Cedric Diggory in particular seemed incredibly sorry to see my concerned state, but instead of making my stomach squirm like his gaze had done on the pitch, it seemed more patronising to me now.

"I am so sorry," he rushed, slyly kneeling down beside my chair to stop Madam Pomfrey throwing him out with the rest of the Gryffindor team. Hesitating for a split second, he clamped a hand gently over the top of mine on the armrest and barely noticed when I went rigid on the spot. "I didn't know he was falling, he was closer to the Snitch than I was. He's a brilliant Seeker too, I heard he's never lost a match before. If it hadn't been for the Dementors-"

"Cedric!" I interrupted with a snap, my hand automatically tightening around the armrest. The Hufflepuff Seeker fell silent immediately, taking his hand back and inching away a fraction. "I don't care about the match, or the Snitch, or if he's bloody good enough for the national team. The Dementors interrupted, you won. End of story. Now unless you have something useful to say, please, get out of my face before I can say anything else you might regret."

Cedric turned to Hermione and Ron, but the two of them sat with straight backs and an identical, blank looks. Scanning my expression for a second, he took a deep breath and started again. "I realise you must be-"

"You _realise?" _I found myself hissing furiously, my hands clenching around the armrests at my sides. "I swear to God, Cedric, if you don't stand up and leave-"

"Artemis!" Lupin's sharp voice suddenly came, and the teacher was stood behind my chair in the same second. "Is there a problem?"

"Where do I start?" I grumbled through my teeth, and Cedric blinked in surprise.

"I . . . I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," he said uncertainly, straightening out. My jaw locked stubbornly, but my shoulders sagged and my hands relaxed. I realised I was being irrationally unreasonable, but I couldn't force myself to look at or saying anything to him. Without another word, Cedric nodded once and straightened out, turning away from the four of us and cautiously leaving the hospital wing.

Hermione squirmed as Lupin watched him walk away. "He was only being considerate, Arty."

"No, he wasn't, he was being an irritating, conceited moron and the next time I talk to someone like that, it had better be because Harry woke up." She and Ron exchanged an uncertain look, but Lupin grimaced, patting my shoulder once before turning to follow Cedric out of the room.

Hermione and Ron had long since left to get some rest in the common room by the time Harry woke up. An ominous glow from the moon in the night sky was being cast from the furthest windows, and the temperature had dropped to around freezing. Despite that, I was still huddled on the armchair, with only the fresh clothes Hermione had brought me after the match for warmth. Not only that, but my left forearm was burning like lava was flowing through my veins.

"Miss Williams, really," Madam Pomfrey's aggravated sigh came. I lifted my head wryly, long enough to see her silhouette in the doorway of her office before I dropped my head back to rest on my knees. "You shouldn't be here."

"Can't sleep," I murmured back, blinking my dry eyes painfully.

"Well I can assure you, Williams, that Potter will be fine," Madam Pomfrey replied sharply. "Now I suggest you go back to your dormitory and _try _to get some sleep."

"I'm not going anywhere," I told her blandly. "Sorry."

"Oh, _honestly_," she groaned, hurrying forward and snatching a blanket off the end of one of the empty beds. "You'd think he was dying. Williams, the boy will be fine." She was scowling when she came into view, but it didn't stop her throwing the blanket over my shoulders and wrapping it around me as tightly as she could.

"Sorry," I repeated, and I hoped she understood just how sorry I was when she met my gaze. It wasn't like I wanted to stay here. I was drawing far too much attention to myself by refusing to move away from him for more than five minutes. The problem was I didn't think I could. Every time I moved, my head spun and my arm bled.

Madam Pomfrey's lips pursed. "I don't understand you, Williams. These last two years, you couldn't wait to get out of here. You and Potter never saw eye to eye." She gave me a sceptical look, as if to prove her point, then straightened out and marched back to her office without pushing me further.

I gulped hard, scowling at the ground. She was right, of course. It wasn't just that we didn't see eye to eye, but neither of us liked spending too much time in the other's company. For the past two years, Harry had been a boy I'd tolerated because I liked hanging around with Hermione and Ron, nothing more. Now, the thought of moving too far away was like . . . well, falling off a broom. Only this time, there was no one there to catch you before you hit the ground, and I'd do pretty much anything to avoid the impact, no matter how much the thought terrified me.

Just as the panic began to get the better of me, Harry's lifeless form gave a sudden jerk, and a cough caught loudly in his throat. I jumped, instantly straightening out in my seat and shifting a little closer as my chest constricted.

"Harry?" I asked cautiously, watching him splutter with his eyebrows pulled together tightly.

It took a moment or two before he could talk, and when he did, his voice was hoarse and tight. "Arty? W-What happened?"

I hesitated, flicking my gaze toward Madam Pomfrey's office door before pushing myself out of the armchair and onto the edge of Harry's bed. "Dementors," I said simply. "They showed up at the Quidditch match and you . . . well, you fell."

Slowly, he opened his eyes, still narrowed, and glowered at the ceiling. An awkward silence fell over the two of us, and for a moment, I did nothing but watch him come to, wondering why I'd been so worried in the first place. He'd fallen unconscious because of the Dementors before. Madam Pomfrey was right. I should have known he'd be fine.

Wincing sharply, Harry shifted until he was sat upright. Thankfully, the movement forced a bit of colour back into his cheeks, and I felt my shoulder relax in relief. "Fell?" he clarified with a frown. I nodded once. "How . . . who brought me here?"

At that, I dropped my gaze and cleared my throat. "When the Dementors showed up, Wood ordered us all back to the ground. When you didn't show up, I turned back to look for you. I saw you fall and managed to stop you before you hit the ground, but Dumbledore had to bring you up."

Harry's face slackened. "You caught me?"

My eyebrows pulled together as I looked back up at him, squirming on the spot. "That's just it," I murmured under my breath, casting a quick glance over my shoulder. He raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Harry, I left my wand in the changing rooms."

He stared at me, speechless. "B-But you . . . you couldn't have. It's impossible."

"That's what I thought," I rushed, shifting closer. "But I swear, I left it in the pocket of my robes, and then when I reached back to my pocket in my Quidditch robes, it was right there. And . . ."

"And?" he blurted loudly, his eyes widening. "Jeez Arty, there's an _and_ here?"

Sinking my teeth into my bottom lip, I pulled the blanket around my shoulders back and rolled my left sleeve up. Harry's eyes dropped to the bandage Hermione had wrapped tightly around it and a troubled expression descended over his face.

"We have to talk to Dumbledore," he muttered.

"That's just it, Harry, I tried," I breathed. "When you were unconscious, Dumbledore and Lupin were right there. They've both been down to see you since, and I . . . I just couldn't say it. I wanted to, more than anything, but I couldn't."

Harry didn't say anything, taking my hand in his and unwinding the bandage from around my arm. When he pulled it away, the only thing marking the skin beneath was the tattoo; no blood, no damage.

Finally, after weeks of bottling up whatever worry I had, I felt my entire body cave in. "God Harry, what are we going to do?" I groaned, dropping my face into my hands.

"Hey, we'll figure something out," he replied softly, wrapping an arm around my shoulders without hesitation. "If we have to spend every waking moment in the library searching for answers from now until the end of Hogwarts, I promise you, we'll figure this out."

I sighed heavily. "I wish I had that amount of confidence."

He scoffed. "It takes years of practice, and you definitely don't have the patience for that."

"Oh, but golden boy does?" I snorted, pushing myself away from him with raised eyebrows.

He smirked, shrugging one shoulder and opening his mouth to reply. Only, it wasn't his voice I heard. "Potter!" Madam Pomfrey's shrill voice came. "You're up! Thank Heavens, perhaps Williams will go to bed now!"

"I wouldn't bank on it," Harry grinned with a wink in my direction. "She has a habit of doing the exact opposite as she told."

"Watch it, Potter," I warned with a glower.

He laughed at me as Madam Pomfrey took me by the shoulders. "Well, if you have to, sleep here," she instructed, placing me on the edge of the next bed. "But for heaven's sake, sleep girl! Your teachers will have my head if you aren't in lessons tomorrow!"

"It's Saturday tomorrow," I complained with a roll of my eyes, and Harry's grin widened a fraction. "I'm warning you, Potter!"

"Now enough!" Madam Pomfrey snapped. "Both of you! Williams, sleep. Potter, how are you feeling?" Without another word, she took the dividing curtain and pulled it between us, leaving me alone and shattered. Yawning widely, I swung my legs onto the bed and barely managed to crawl beneath the covers before my eyelids fell completely.

Harry was released from the hospital wing the next day, and no one seemed to miss how I'd suddenly cheered up dramatically. Lavender and Parvati immediately mistook this as a sign that the two of us were more than friends, or that at the very least I wanted to be, so I'd taken to avoiding the common room as much as humanly possible.

And, as usual, that meant I frequently got into a lot of trouble. Spending so much time outside of the common room meant I spent more time with other students outside of Gryffindor which, when it came to Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, wasn't so bad. It even gave me a chance to spend some time with Liam and Will, and I found I could get on with all lot of students much more than I thought. Harry, Ron, Hermione and I spent many afternoons off sat on the banks of the Black Lake with an ever-growing group of students, including the Weasley twins, Lee Jordan, a girl called Susan and a boy called Eric from Hufflepuff, a large group of Liam and Will's friends, and what seemed to be the entirety of the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw Quidditch team – on which both Liam and Will played, Liam as a Chaser, and Will as the Keeper. Honestly, despite everything, I don't think I'd ever been happier.

So it wasn't a surprise when Snape decided to give me detention every night for week, after making just one unfortunate comment to Malfoy and Parkinson. It didn't help matters that nothing he did made the slightest impact on my mood, and it was with great satisfaction I watched Snape give in entirely and dismiss me from my last detention at the end of the week.

I was grinning to myself like an idiot, but I couldn't help it. I'd actually beaten Snape. I thought I might actually laugh.

"Well," Lupin's voice came from the dark ahead of me. "Someone looks happy."

It was nearing midnight, so technically I shouldn't have been wandering the corridors, but Lupin didn't seem to notice. He was stood in front of me, with the tip of his wand alight and a small smile on his face. "Dare I ask where you're going?" he asked with an eyebrow raised.

"The common room," I replied truthfully. He gave me a knowing look. "Seriously! I've just finished detention."

"Again?" he breathed in disbelief.

I pulled a face. "It was with Snape."

_"Professor_ Snape, Artemis," he corrected, but his eyebrows pulled together in concern. "May I ask why you're smiling?"

I couldn't help laughing, grinning from ear to ear. "I think he gave up," I admitted. "He's been trying to ruin my mood all week."

"I'm glad to see he failed," Lupin chuckled, his eyes shining in his wand light. "You have been rather happy recently, not that I'll complain. However, perhaps you should get back to the common room, before Filch catches you out so late."

"Yes, Professor," I nodded, still smiling to myself as I skirted around him. The sound of his chuckle followed me down the corridor, and the moment I slipped out of sight, I broke into a run, just for the sake of it. I couldn't explain why I was so happy, but a small part of my mind kept telling me that it couldn't last forever.

Just as I had made my mind up to make the most of it while it lasted, another voice shattered the peace and silence of the night, only this time, it didn't sound as welcoming as Lupin had. Frowning, my footsteps slowed as I neared the corner of the corridor, straining to hear the argument ensuing outside the Gryffindor common room. I couldn't make out any of what was being said, but gradually, the Fat Lady seemed to be getting more and more worked up, until eventually-

Her scream pierced the air and I started, snatching my wand out of my back pocket on instinct and slipping around the corner. A figure was stood by the portrait with his back to me and in his hand he held something silver that looked oddly like a knife shining wickedly in the light of the lamps on the wall.

"What the hell are you doing?" I snapped loudly, and the man whipped around. The sight of him made my face fall and my stomach twist harshly.

He was taller than I'd imagined, with scraggy, greasy black hair that fell to his shoulders and a bony figure, so skinny his skin was stretched impossibly thin over his bones. His black eyes seemed hollow and unseeing, and the furious expression on his face was slowly disappearing, being replaced with something else. Dressed in dirty, torn robes with a knife in hand, Sirius Black looked every bit as dangerous as the papers made him out to be.

Suddenly, my throat was tight and my hand felt loose around my wand, stretched out in front of me uselessly. My heart hammered in my chest in sheer panic, and it took a minute or two for me to remember that this man was trying to kill my best friend.

The best friend that was currently inside the Gryffindor Tower.

In the same second this registered, I snapped out of my trance, my hand clenching my wand as my mouth opened. I'd barely drawn breath, however, when Black darted forward, grabbing my wand arm and twisting. Gasping in surprise, I staggered and turned under the pressure, until Black had my back against his chest and his knife to my throat.

I took a ragged breath through my teeth, my anger burning through my veins. The tattoo on my left forearm burnt painfully, and a flicker of recognition seemed to run through my mind, immediately followed by a fresh wave of fury.

_Harry,_ I realised with a jolt of panic. _Harry knows I'm in trouble. He can't come down here, I have to do something!_

"If you're going to kill me, get it over with," I snarled quietly at Black.

He went rigid behind me. "I'm not going to kill you, Artemis," he croaked hoarsely, and I felt myself shudder at the sound of my name. How did he know who I was? Gulping hard, I twisted my wand hand painfully until I felt my wand sticking out of Black's pocket.

Heart hammering, I snatched clumsily at it, clenching it in my fingers tightly. Before Black could say another word, I twisted the wand to point in his direction and pushed my free arm at his armed hand with a wince. _"Bombarda!"_

A rush of cold air encased me as Black skidded backwards over the floor, leaving a small, tingling cut across the skin over my throat. Shuddering in fear, I lifted my wand without turning to him, pointing it at the suit of armour directly across from me. I had to sound the alarm, and there was only one way that _might_ be fast enough. _"Expulso!"_

The explosion was terrifying and the force made me stumble back, dropping to the ground and throwing my arms over my head to shield me from the blast that shook the floors. Behind me, something like a whine sounded and I scrambled around, but Black had already gone. Instead, my eyes fell on the portrait of the Fat Lady. It had been sliced open three times, and the Fat Lady herself had gone. Obviously, she'd refused to let him in.

I'd barely had time to catch my breath when the portrait was swung open and Harry skidded to a halt in his pyjamas, his face pale and his glasses sat lopsided on the bridge of his nose. "Arty!" he breathed, rushing forward and bending down to help me to my feet. "Are you alright? What happened?"

He took my arms in his hands and pulled me upright, steadying me carefully as I staggered. I blinked a few times, trying to shift the dizziness that the blast had caused. "I-"

"Artemis!"

Harry's grip tightened as I staggered around, watching a pale and concerned Lupin rush forward, his panicked gaze glancing over his shoulder at the destruction I'd caused. Several students were crowding in the entrance to the Gryffindor Tower, muttering amongst themselves curiously and trying to get a better look.

"I'm sorry, Professor, that was me," I gulped at Lupin as he scanned the rumble at the other end of the corridor. "It was the only way I could get someone's attention fast enough."

Lupin hesitated. "And why did you need someone's attention?"

There was silence for a moment, and my eyes cast an awkward glance back at the Gryffindor Tower, where Hermione and Ron had just about managed to fight their way forward. Beside me, Harry was staring at me expectantly, expecting the worst by the look on his face.

I sighed. "Because he's here. Sirius Black."


	14. Thirteen: Home Truths

"It's just a tiny cut, Professor, I'm fine," I insisted as a furious Lupin marched me toward Dumbledore's office, one of his hands wrapped around my arm and one around his wand tightly.

The explosion I'd caused had caught the attention of enough teachers that McGonagall and some of the others were standing guard of the Gryffindor Tower and searching the castle for signs of Black. Ghosts were flying past to alert everyone else, and the characters in the paintings were running between each other's canvas', shouting out crude warnings and whispering gossip. Lupin had insisted that Harry, Ron and Hermione stay in the Gryffindor Tower with McGonagall while he escorted me to Dumbledore, not that any of them thanked him for it. But honestly, I'd never seen anyone this angry before now, and I wasn't going to argue with him until he calmed down.

"I cannot _believe_ that man's arrogance," Lupin spat, more to himself than to me as he dragged me down the corridor. I blinked, wondering whether I should bother telling him that he was hurting me more than Black had. "Breaking into the castle and assaulting a student!"

"Assault is a little exaggerated," I grimaced quietly, and he shot me a cool look that made me blink in surprise. Turning away again, he hauled me toward the gargoyle statue in front of Dumbledore's office, snapping the password irritably.

I had a funny feeling that my good mood had been interrupted permanently.

Lupin didn't even knock on the door before shouldering it open and hauling me inside. But the two of us froze at the sight of the Minister of Magic sat in a chair in front of Dumbledore's desk, obviously having been in deep conversation with the Headmaster himself, who was glancing between Lupin and me with a small frown.

"Remus," he said, slowly pushing himself to his feet. "Is there a problem?"

Lupin loosened his grip on my arm, giving me a pointed look and jerking his head toward Dumbledore. I shifted awkwardly. "Sir, it's Sirius Black. He's broken into the castle."

"What?" Fudge blurted, shaking on the spot as he faced drained of colour. "B-Black? H-H-Here?"

Dumbledore ignored him. "You saw him, Miss Williams?" I nodded slowly. "Where?"

"He was trying to break into the Gryffindor Tower, sir," I said, frowning slightly. "I was on my way back from detention with Snape and I heard him arguing with the Fat Lady. She started screaming and I went to help, but . . . well, I didn't really expect to run into an escaped convict, Professor. He took me by surprise."

"Understandable," Dumbledore nodded sternly. "Did he say anything to you?"

"No, sir," I answered, casting an awkward look in Fudge's direction. I didn't mind telling Dumbledore or Lupin that Black had completely freaked me out by knowing my name, but the Minister of Magic was a different thing entirely.

"Did he hurt you?"

"No."

"Yes," Lupin argued with a scowl. Without asking, he reached forward and tilted my chin upright to show Dumbledore and Fudge the tiny cut along my skin.

Fudge winced. "Oh my," he breathed, blinking once and clearing his throat. "How on Earth . . . ?"

"It isn't that bad," I shrugged. "I think he was just trying to keep me quiet."

"And I take it that didn't work?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes shining oddly over the rim of his glasses.

I managed a half smile. "No, Professor. I managed to get my wand back and pull free. That's how I got the cut. The only way I could think to get people's attention was by making a noise, so I blew up a suit of armour."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow as Fudge choked. Beside me, Lupin rolled his eyes. "You blew it up? Well, it got the job done, I suppose. Lupin, kindly escort Miss Williams to the hospital wing, then send a message to the teachers. All the students are to be moved to the Great Hall for the night, while we ensure that Black has gone. I do not expect him to linger, but better safe than sorry."

Lupin nodded, taking my shoulders and spinning me around. "Professor, I don't need the hospital wing," I insisted as he led me back out of Dumbledore's office. "It's a _tiny_ cut, Madam Pomfrey will go mad! I spend plenty of time in there as it is without letting Black get the better of me."

He glanced sideways at me, pursing his lips. Carefully, he took his wand into one hand again and my chin in the other, holding the point of his wand an inch away from the cut. _"Episkey!"_ Suddenly, the cut burned like someone had just put a match to it and I gasped in surprise, but before I could even think to ask Lupin if that was normal, the same cut ran freezing cold.

Lupin gave me a weak smile. "It's supposed to feel like that," he assured me. "I'll take you back to the Gryffindor Tower, but you're not to wander on your own, do you understand?" I nodded with a straight face, hoping he understood I was being serious. He sighed heavily, grimacing tightly and leading the way down the corridor once more.

The moment I stepped through the portrait hole, I was surrounded, and not just by people I knew. Everyone seemed to be struggling to get to me first and ask me a different question. Unfortunately, the first person next to me was Colin Creevey, a very irritating second year, who flashed his camera and grinned at me in excitement.

"Hey Artemis!" he squeaked. "Ron said you were attacked by Sirius Black but you beat him! Is it true?"

I shot an irritation look through the crowd at Ron. "Did he now?" I managed through gritted teeth.

"Back away, please Colin," Lupin instructed, stepping around me protectively and pushing the crowd back gently. They didn't go far, until Harry shoved his way through them with a scowl. "Ah Harry, perhaps it's best you, Ron and Hermione keep an eye on her for now. Oh, and Artemis? Be careful what you tell people."

"Yes, Professor," I nodded, scanning the crowd all whispering and pointing in our direction. Lupin gave me one last pointed look before turning and letting himself out again, making sure to talk to McGonagall on the way out. "I think I might have to borrow your Cloak," I muttered to Harry out of the corner of my mouth.

"Give it a few minutes and I might agree with you," he answered, taking my wrist and pulling me to the back of the room.

After that, McGonagall led us all to the Great Hall, where I was ambushed by even more people trying to figure out exactly what had happened. It took a while to convince people to leave me alone long enough to tell Harry, Ron and Hermione what had actually happened. None of them looked pleased, Harry least of all, but I didn't discuss it any more than necessary. Instead, I grabbed a sleeping bag and curled up for the night, praying that whatever mess Black had made would die down soon enough.

I was wrong, of course. As Dumbledore had predicted, Black had long since disappeared by the time the teachers knew he'd been there. Security was doubled, which unfortunately meant more Dementors. And suddenly, the large group of friends I used to love spending time with became insufferable, constantly asking me about Black and debating where he'd gone.

Unfortunately, the one thing I couldn't get out of was the last trip to Hogsmeade before the Christmas holidays. Despite handing my permission slip into McGonagall at the beginning of the year, I hadn't gone on any of the previous trips, convinced that Mia and Luke were testing my resolve. This time, however, Hermione and Ron had managed to talk me round, insisting that I find a suitable present for Mia, Luke and Rosie.

"Are you sure you'll be alright here?" Hermione frowned, glancing sideways at Harry as we made our way down to the Entrance Hall. Since the Quidditch accident and Black's attack, she'd been growing more and more protective of both me and Harry, constantly asking us if we were alright and refusing to leave us alone for more than a few hours at a time.

"I'm fine, Hermione," he responded wryly, rolling his eyes in my direction. My lips tugged, but I said nothing.

"We'll bring you back a Butterbeer," Ron grinned. "And chocolate from Honeydukes."

Something in Harry's eyes sparkled, and he nodded slowly. "Sounds good. I'll see you all later." Hermione and Ron smiled and nodded, turning to take the last few steps, but I hesitated, examining Harry's expression for a moment. He lifted an eyebrow. "What?"

"You're up to something," I said quietly, and his smile grew a fraction.

"Don't know what you mean," he shrugged.

I sighed heavily. "Don't get caught, Potter. No doubt Snape will find a way to rope me into too."

"Find a way?" Harry laughed. "I'll tell him it was your idea." I shot him an irritated look, ignoring his chuckle as I hurried to follow Hermione and Ron out of the castle.

I found the two of them with a large group of third years, consisting of Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil and her twin sister Padma, Neville Longbottom and a few other Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw kids I didn't recognise. All of them were talking excitedly about their plans for Christmas, the girls squealing irritably when the guys decided to start a snowball fight as we walked.

"You think Harry's really okay with all of this?" Hermione muttered at me, flicking a snowball away with a wave of her wand without actually looking. "You know, the tattoos and everything."

I raised an eyebrow, wondering if she'd actually realised she was even using magic as she chewed her bottom lip anxiously. "No, I know for a fact he's freaking out," I replied honestly. "But it's best to let him get on with it."

She looked startled for a second. "What? Shouldn't we say something to him? Shouldn't_ you?"_

"If I start trying to make him see sense, if that's even possible right now, it'll only make things worse," I shrugged. "Right now, he's happy messing around and getting on Snape's nerves. Push him too far and he'll do something spectacularly stupid. Besides, there's no point getting worked up until we know what we're dealing with. We have enough on our plates with Black at the moment."

"You've calmed down a lot," she remarked, obviously irritated I wasn't as eager for answers as she was. I didn't reply to that one, but knowing I could still pull off calm when my breakfast was threatening to make a reappearance made me feel a little better.

The walk to Hogsmeade took longer than I had hoped. The snow covering the ground didn't help much, and most of the students ahead of us looked like they were getting cold enough to call it a day already. Our group, on the other hand, still seemed to be in good spirits. Lavender, Parvati and Padma were giggling between themselves, Ron, Seamus and Dean were trying to convince Neville to attempt flying lessons for the first time after his disastrous attempt in first year, and Hermione and I tagged along behind, kicking the snow beneath our feet.

"How long does it actually take to get there?" I called forward after another ten minutes of aimless walking.

Seamus glanced back at me with a grin. "Patience is a virtue, Arty," he called.

"Patience?" Ron snorted. "You know who you're talking to, right?"

I scowled, scooping a ball of snow into my hands and launching it at the back of his head. The guys burst into fits of laughter as it hit its target, causing Ron to gasp in shock and the girls to shriek and jump out of the way. "Silence is golden," I frowned at him as I passed.

"That's it," he grumbled, and before I could so much as blink, I'd caused an all-out war. Grinning, I grabbed a few handfuls of snow and ducked behind Hermione as Ron threw a far too accurate shot in my direction. She shrieked loudly, cursing my name and hurrying to move along with the other girls.

We were still launching snow through the air when we reached the village, laughing loudly as we staggered onto the street. A few Hogwarts teachers looked up at the sound, but just smiled wryly at us and turned away again.

"So, chocolate or Butterbeer first?" I grinned, shaking the snow out of my hair and throwing an arm over Hermione's shoulders.

She pursed her lips. "Chocolate," she said. "And no more snowball fights."

Laughing, I held my hands out in surrender. "Fine by me," I shrugged. She sighed heavily, but allowed me to loop my arm through hers and lead the way into Honeydukes chocolate shop. Inside, there were rows and rows of different colours and flavours of sweets, anything you could imagine. Ron instantly abandoned his body guard position and set to work trying to find the weirdest sweet he could. I, however, settled for finding the chocolate.

I stopped in front of the part dedicated to chocolate, taking my time to find out what each one was. In the end, I picked up a bar of chocolate caramel, my favourite, and joined the queue to pay for it. The second I'd paid for it, I tore it open and shoved a block into my mouth, moving to find Ron.

"You shouldn't be here," Hermione was saying, folding her arms across her chest. For a moment, I thought she was talking to me. But I stopped beside her, following her gaze.

I couldn't help smirking in surprise when my eyes fell on Harry, stood leaning against one of the displays casually. "Wow," I said, raising an eyebrow. "When I said I knew you were up to something, I thought it was going to be minor and stupid."

"But he had to go and outdo himself," Hermione glowered, folding her arms over her chest.

Harry smirked at us as I snorted. "I wouldn't go that far Hermione."

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Ron's voice came in shock. Harry turned to look at him, stood with his pockets bulging and his eyes wide. Slowly, his face split into a grin and he shrugged. "Don't really care mind. Hey, how about a Butterbeer? You have to try one!"

"You're encouraging this?" Hermione asked in disbelief.

I sighed dramatically, shaking my head with a wink. "It's like you don't know us at all," I sniffed. She gave me one of her usual, unimpressed looks, but when she saw I wouldn't back down, she sighed. I beamed at her, patting her back as we headed for the Three Broomsticks.

"So how did you get here?" Ron asked eagerly, handing Harry a large handful of sweets and we marched through the snow.

Harry's lips tugged into another smirk and he pulled out an old bit of parchment, waving us toward a quiet corner. Taking out his wand, he cleared his throat. _"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."_

"I am supposed to be surprised?" I chuckled as Ron laughed and Hermione rolled her eyes wryly. Harry winked, indicating toward the parchment that had suddenly just flooded with lines of ink.

"Is that . . . a map?" Hermione gasped.

"That's Hogwarts!" Ron exclaimed. "This is brilliant, Harry! Where'd you get it?"

"Fred and George," he laughed. "Apparently, they stole it out of Filch's office in their first year when they saw a drawer marked _Confiscated and Highly Dangerous."_

I snorted, but Ron's jaw dropped. "They never told me about this!" he moaned.

Harry clapped him on the shoulder. "Well now I am. It shows everything. Where everyone is, the secret passages, how to get out of the castle without passing the Dementors-"

"And if Sirius Black gets his hands on it, we're in trouble," Hermione argued with a scowl. "Harry, what if one of those passages is how he got into the castle? We should show Dumbledore, before he actually kills someone!"

"Even if Black got his hands on it, how would he know how to use it?" Ron frowned. "Besides, if Harry keeps it, then he'll always know if Black's near, right?" Harry nodded at him, but even I was starting to think this was a bad idea. Maybe Hermione was right . . .

Harry must have caught the indecisive look on my face, because he hurriedly stuffed the map into his pocket and changed the conversation. "Are we going to the Three Broomsticks or not? I'm freezing out here!" Hermione glowered at him, but Ron had already started pulling him toward the pub across the street. Sighing heavily, Hermione and I had no choice but to follow suit, though suddenly I found I couldn't stop my eyes scanning the area of any sign of Black.

"I'll get the drinks," Ron said, following Harry through the door and blushing a little as he caught sight of the barmaid.

"Madam Rosmerta," Hermione told me with a small, mocking smile. "Ron fancies her."

"I do not!" Ron complained, but his ears burned bright red. Laughing, Hermione led him toward the bar while Harry and I found a table by a large Christmas tree. Seating himself as close to the tree and as far out of sight as he could, he winked at me and took the map back out again as I sat down opposite him.

"Just be careful with that, would you?" I mumbled quietly.

"Not you too," he groaned. "It's perfectly safe to use."

"It isn't _you_ using it that bothers me," I corrected sourly. "Hermione's right, Black obviously has a way into the castle no one knows about. What if he breaks in again?"

Harry scanned my expression and slumped further into his chair. "Fine. If Black breaks in again, I'll tell Dumbledore about the passages, okay? But I'm not doing anything until then." Figuring it was better than nothing, I nodded and sat back as Hermione and Ron came back, each carrying two Butterbeers in their hands.

"Cheers," I smiled at Hermione as she sat our drinks down in front of me, casting a cautious frown in Harry's direction.

"You really shouldn't be here, you know," she said worriedly. "What if Black's out there right now?"

"We're surrounded by people, Hermione," he answered softly. "He can't doing anything here."

"We didn't think he could break into the castle, either," she pointed out, but Harry wasn't for listening. Instead, he took up the Butterbeer Ron had handed to him and took a large gulp.

Unfortunately, a large group of teachers suddenly chose that exact moment to push the pub door open and step inside from the cold. Harry's face slacken in surprise and without a word, Ron shoved him under the table hurriedly, shooting Hermione and me an urgent look. My wand was out in seconds and I pulled the Christmas tree that was sat beside us closer to the table, shielding us from view.

"Told you so," Hermione mumbled moodily, twirling a strand of hair around her finger nervously as she watched the doorway. I didn't say anything, wondering why I suddenly wanted to grab Harry and run.

McGonagall, Hagrid, Flitwick and the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, entered the pub, and I felt my shoulders sag in exasperation. It was like the four of us were magnets for misfortune. Luckily, none of them looked in our direction as they headed toward the bar to order their drinks.

"Do you think these things happen on purpose?" Ron grumbled. "Like there's someone out there really trying to annoy the hell out of us?"

I scoffed darkly, shuffling in my place and taking a hesitant sip of my Butterbeer. "There's plenty of people like that, Ron, take your pick."

Hermione kicked me under the table. "In this case, I think it _might_ just be bad luck." I pulled a face, but let the conversation drop and turned my attention to listening to what the teachers and Fudge were saying. They'd sat themselves at a small table toward the back of the room, watching as Rosmerta brought their drinks to the table.

"A small gillywater for Minerva, four pints of mulled mead for Hagrid, a cherry syrup and soda with ice and umbrella for you and the Minister's red currant rum," she was saying to Flitwick. Each of them said their thank-yous politely, taking their drinks as she handed them out.

"So what brings you here Minister?" Rosmerta asked with a sigh, as she sat down at the table with them.

Fudge groaned wryly, rubbing his face with his hands. "Sirius Black of course," he answered in undertone. "Would have thought the Dementors would have caught him by now. He's been seen around here too, you know. He even broke into the castle last weekend!"

Rosmerta gasped, but McGonagall shot Fudge an irritated look. "Yes, well Albus obviously wants it kept quiet," she frowned, straightening herself out importantly. "The poor girl he managed to grab is under enough pressure at the school with all the gossip let alone the _Daily Prophet!_ Such a shame really, how he turned out. I remember him while he was at Hogwarts himself."

"Of course," Rosmerta laughed. "Always in here, him and his friends you know. If you'd have told me then he'd become what he is today, I'd have laughed in your face."

Fudge snorted sourly. "I think we all would have Rosmerta," he said sadly. "But we can't change the past, can we?"

There was silence for a moment, and I found myself shuffling on the spot under the tension. "I hear Remus Lupin is teaching up at the castle anyway," Rosmerta announced suddenly. Hermione gasped a little as Ron spluttered into his drink. I scowled at the two of them, pursing my lips and listening to the rest of the conversation intently.

"Yes," McGonagall said shortly. "What of it?"

Rosmerta immediately looked guilty, and I felt a pang of grim satisfaction. I found I didn't like the way she seemed to be accusing Lupin of something, especially where Black was concerned. The teacher was a lot of things, and very few – if any – were bad. "I just remember him being close to Black, that's all," she said in a small voice and something in my chest clenched tightly. "Didn't Black even marry his sister?"

Even I had to double take that, shooting Hermione a stunned gaze. She met my eyes with a gulp, shrugging ever so slightly. I wasn't entirely sure why I was so surprised I didn't know much about him, but the thought I knew so little made me eerily cold.

"Yes, he did," Flitwick said thoughtfully, frowning down at his drink in his hands. "She was a bright girl, Selena. Even brighter than Remus and he wasn't exactly stupid."

"Well, Black would have had to date someone like that," McGonagall said irritably. "He was always showing off."

"With friends like his, could you blame him?" Rosmerta laughed. "James Potter was the best at everything if you listened to a word he said."

If there was anything they could have said to make me feel worse, that was it. Without thinking, I immediately tried to slip under the table to check on Harry, but Ron's hands clenched around my arms to keep me on the spot. When my eyes found his, I wasn't curious, or angry, or even shocked. I was terrified. Utterly, and completely terrified. Not for me, I realised, but for Harry.

Sirius Black was a friend of his father. And now the same man was trying to kill him.

"They were like brothers Potter and Black," Fudge frowned, and my hand tightened around the wand in my pocket. "Nothing changed after Hogwarts either. That's why it's so horrible. He did the worst thing imaginable."

"What?" Rosmerta gasped, leaning forward.

"He handed the Potters to You-Know-Who," Fudge said dramatically.

I was on my feet in the same second, and it took both Ron and Hermione to pull me back down. My heart was thudding furiously in my ears as I glanced down at the tears forming in Hermione's eyes. "Please don't," she whispered, tugging my sleeve over the green tattoo embedded in my skin. Slowly, I lowered myself back down into the seat, all my muscles tensed like I was ready for a fight.

"What?" Rosmerta gasped again, and this time I could barely hear what was being said.

"And they made him Harry's godfather," Fudge added, like it was the easiest thing to say. I gulped hard, closing my eyes and tilted my head back on my seat. Hermione's hand slipped into mine, clenching it tightly.

"But they were so close at Hogwarts," Flitwick mumbled, obviously deeply disturbed.

"Quite the troublemakers too," McGonagall added disapprovingly. "Don't think Hogwarts has quite seen a pair like that since."

"I don't know," Hagrid chuckled. "Fred and George Weasley could give them a run for their money."

"And don't forget Harry and Artemis," Flitwick added cheerily.

Fudge's face darkened immediately. "That's what worries me I'm afraid," he said, scowling.

"Excuse me?" McGonagall asked, offended. "I'm the first to admit that neither of those two should ever be allowed near a Slytherin for the rest of their lives, but some of the things they've done! If it hadn't been for them last year, the school would probably be shut and Ginny Weasley would have died. And that's before I mention anything about their first year. Eleven years old they were when they saved the Philosophers Stone with Weasley and Granger. The pair of them even have awards for Services to the School."

Fudge debated his answer before he replied, drumming his fingertips anxiously against the table by his drink. "Did you know that Artemis Williams is adopted?" he asked quietly, and my blood ran cold.

"Of course I do!" McGonagall said indignantly. "She's in my house! I've even met her parents, Mia and Luke Williams. Very nice people, couldn't have hoped for a better family for her."

"No one knows exactly how she ended up with the Williams, and they always refused to come clean," Fudge continued disapprovingly. "I've asked Luke I don't know how many times. He works in the Department of Law Enforcement, you know, and sometimes I wonder if even he knows how Artemis ended up a Williams. But we know _exactly_ where she came from, and I'd be lying if I said it didn't worry me slightly in this climate."

"What are you talking about?" Hagrid demanded gruffly. "Our little Arty is a brilliant witch, one of the best at Hogwarts if you ask me."

"Of course she is," Fudge sighed with a dismissive wave of his hand. "With parents like hers, it's no surprise."

Another silence descended, and there had never been another moment in my life when I hoped the ground would open up and swallow me whole.

"You've known who her parents are for this long and not told her?" Hagrid growled furiously, frowning down at the Minister.

"Do you think she should know that she is the daughter of Sirius Black?" Fudge said darkly.

I'd heard enough. Without stopping for Ron and Hermione, I pulled myself out of my seat and yanked the hood of my jacket over my head. My father was trying to kill my best friend, after already killing his parents. My heart raced, my blood boiled, my mind whirled, and I'd never been so aggravated in my entire life. Adrenaline seemed to be rushing through my veins, pleading with me to move, to run and never stop.

But all I could think about was Harry . . .

Taking a ragged breath and rearranging my expression, I forced myself to move straight toward the Minister's table, dropping my hood back to my shoulders. They were whispering in undertone now, and Flitwick was leaning so far forward, I thought he might fall off the edge. Hagrid was growing paler by the second, and even McGonagall looked like she was running out of air to breathe.

Shivers ran over my skin and my heart thudded far too quickly in my chest, but I pushed forward until the Minister looked up in my direction. His eyes widened a fraction and he hurriedly waved Flitwick away with a panicked look.

"Professor McGonagall," I smiled tightly, my voice sounding oddly level. The teacher stared at me, obviously trying to assess whether I'd heard anything or not. "Sorry for interrupting, but I was just wondering whether it was too late to put my name down for going home for the holidays?"

Fudge gulped hard and gave a nervous kind of laugh. "My dear, surely it's better to stay at the castle this year? Far safer for you there."

I gave a dark laugh, hoping none of them noticed my smile didn't quite reach my eyes. "Me, Minister? It isn't like Black's after me, is it?" I couldn't help relishing how awkward the atmosphere became, and I noted the sheer look of fear in Fudge's eyes with a grim satisfaction.

McGonagall cleared her throat. "I'm sure that will be fine, Williams," she said shortly. "I'll inform Dumbledore. There'll be plenty of room on the train for you tomorrow morning."

"Thank you, Professor," I replied. "Sorry again, for intruding." Turning, I ignored the looks I was receiving from Ron and Hermione and left the pub as quickly as possible. The forced calm I'd spoken with to the teachers and Minister was beginning to crumble, and I _needed_ to be out of sight when it caved entirely.

I skidded to halt outside the door, closing my eyes and allowing the cold, brittle air to attack my skin and face. The pit of my stomach was squirming, and any energy I had had from the initial rush of adrenaline was quickly depleting. Gulping hard, I took a sharp breath and pushed myself onward again, weaving through the masses of students laughing and joking amongst each other. A few of the other students called out for my attention, including a very persistent Cedric Diggory, but I ignored them all and kept moving.

The moment I was out of Hogsmeade, I broke into a run, wincing awkwardly through my teeth as the freezing air instantly began to rip at my face. Still, I didn't slow any until I reached the gates of Hogwarts, where the Dementors were still guarding the grounds from Sirius Black. Their presence here had suddenly taken on a whole new meaning, as though the weight of every student who had ever felt uneasy around them was now firmly resting on my shoulders.

My father was causing this, and there wouldn't be a day that went past that I wouldn't despise him for it.

Without realising it, I'd ended up on the banks of the Black Lake, shielding from sight by the Forbidden Forest. The moment my feet stopped, my knees gave way and I crashed to the ground, for the first time in my life bursting into uncontrollable tears. Before, I'd always considered crying as just a way of showing everyone how weak you were, but now . . . it felt like someone had ripped my heart from my chest and stamped on it repeatedly.

I wasn't sure how long I stayed there, or how many tears leaked through my fingertips before I realised my forearm was burning. The long-sleeved, white shirt I was wearing was now stained red, and a numb weakness was beginning to take over. It wasn't until I heard footsteps behind me that I even tried to look up.

Harry was stood at the edge of the Forest, his face pale and his arm hastily bandaged. In the background, Hermione and Ron were hovering a few hundred feet away, both pale and unsure. But I barely noticed them. Instead, I was fixated on the scowl over Harry's face, the way his eyes couldn't rest on one of my features, or how I could see a flicker of doubt masked beneath the pain and suffering he'd always been so adept at hiding.

Taking a shaky breath, I wiped my eyes hurriedly and pushed myself to my feet. "I wouldn't worry about it," I managed to laugh humourlessly at him. "I'm out of here."

I strode forward, skirting around him, but his hand latched around my bleeding forearm and I couldn't help gasping in surprise. "Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, her eyes wide with fear, but Ron held her back before she could move forward.

Harry ignored her entirely, his eyes narrowed and boring into mine. "Did you know?" he questioned abruptly.

Anger swelled. "Does it _look_ like I knew?" I snapped, yanking my arm back. "Think what you want, Harry, I'm too tired to care."

He snorted sourly. "Yes, finding out your father's a murder must be hard work."

Teeth grinding loudly, I slapped him hard before I could stop myself. "Don't ever talk to me like that again," I warned, my voice dangerously quiet. "I'm sick of people lying to me, hiding things from me, then blaming me when everything goes wrong. I can't stand how my happiness somehow relies on yours, like I'm not allowed to have my own life, and it makes me sick to think that people like Cornelius Fudge are gathered around a table in a pub somewhere gossiping about me like I'm the criminal!" My voice was gradually growing louder, but Harry's face never wavered. "The worst part is, I thought you of all people would've understood."

"Your father killed my parents," he snarled through his teeth.

"Which, of course, is my fault," I said, shaking my head and taking a few steps backward again from him. "It was probably even my idea, what with me being a year old and everything!" Harry's eyes flashed, but I was past caring. Shaking in fury, I wheeled around and strode straight toward the castle, ignoring Ron and Hermione's sympathetic looks on the way. The only thing that would help me now was answers.

And there was only one person I trusted enough to tell me the truth.


	15. Fourteen: Homeward Bound

The next day, I was packed and ready to get back on the Hogwarts Express. I'd woken early enough to avoid Harry and Ron, but Hermione had already been awake for several hours, curled up into a tight ball with a book propped up on her knees. No matter what I said, she insisted on helping me get ready, and forced a Christmas present into my trunk when I told her I wasn't in the mood to celebrate the holidays.

"You can't _not_ have a Christmas present, Arty," she insisted softly, opening the lid of my trunk and pushing some of the things aside to make room for her gift. "Besides, you bought me something. You're my best friend, therefore you get a present."

I sighed heavily, perching myself on the end of my bed and rolling my left sleeve up to my elbow. The other girls had already woken and left, taking the opportunity to huddle around the fire and gossip before they all left for home. Which was fortunate, since the bandage wrapped around my forearm needed changing for the third time that morning. I'd actually lost that much blood, my head was starting to spin.

Hermione shot me a disapproving look when she noticed me unwinding it cautiously. "That isn't going to stop unless you talk to him."

"And say what?" I frowned. "I'm sorry my father killed your parents? I didn't mean what I said yesterday?"

"You were a little . . ."

"Blunt?" I suggested. "Honest? I won't take it back, Hermione, I meant every word I said. Of course I hate Black for what he did, and if I ever meet the man, I can't be held accountable for my own actions. But that doesn't give anyone the right to treat me like the criminal. I'm sick of it, Hermione."

"No one's treated like a criminal before!" she argued in a shrill voice.

"And how many times has everything been my fault?" I scowled. "The moment something goes wrong, everyone turns to me like I should be able to snap my fingers and fix it, and when I can't, it's my fault. Ron even managed to blame me for not realising the Dursleys had locked Harry up last year. And this year, he runs away from home and I get to deal with the aftermath."

"You said you didn't care about that!" Hermione breathed.

"And I didn't. But what thanks do I get for it? Now that he knows Black is my real father, he thinks I'm suddenly in league with the man? I've followed him to the Philosopher's Stone _and_ the Chamber of Secrets, stood and fought _Lord Voldemort_ beside him for the past two years, and now he thinks I want him dead?" She shifted with a small frown and pursed lips but said nothing and returned to trying to squeeze her present into my trunk while I winced and scowled as I scanned the tattoo on my arm.

"Hey, Arty? What's this?"

My eyes flicked up and narrowed at the parcel in her hands. For a moment, I didn't recognise it as mine. Then I remembered the strange guy back in the book shop in Diagon Alley almost three months ago.

"I forgot I still had that," I said, pushing myself to my feet and taking it from her. "It was really weird, some random guy came up to me in the book shop in Diagon Alley with it. I'd never met him before but he knew my name. Apparently, someone gave him that to give to me."

Hermione's jaw dropped. "And you took it?" she gawped. "Artemis, this could be anything! Who knows who could have sent you this?"

The question made me go rigid on the spot, my eyes fixed to the parcel as my heart started hammering in my eardrums. In front of me, she gasped, hands clamping over her mouth with wide, shining eyes staring at me in fear.

"You don't think . . ." she trailed cautiously, her voice muffled by her fingers. "He wouldn't dare . . . would he?"

I scoffed sourly, my throat oddly tight. "The man broke out of Azkaban, Hermione. I'm not sure sending a birthday present to his daughter is quite in the same league." She didn't answer, but I could feel my blood start to boil. Without hesitating, I ripped the paper off the parcel, blocking out Hermione's scolding as much as I could.

"He could have cursed that!" she shrieked, sending a quick look over her shoulder to make sure no one was there.

"I don't care," I replied simply. "If he wants me dead, then we'll find out the hard way, won't we?"

"Oh, I don't like this, Artemis," Hermione gulped, inching closer to me with her eyes fixed warily on the package. "The man's mad! You have no idea what he could have been thinking when he sent you that."

"No, I don't," I agreed. "But make sure you tell Harry he has a wand, would you?" She hesitated, but I'd already dismissed the building worry that Black had managed to curse the man in Diagon Alley into giving this to me. Instead, I pulled the paper wrapping away and let the card and present tumble onto the bed in front of me.

For a moment, neither of us moved. The card had been sealed inside an envelope with my name scrawled across the front in untidy handwriting, and the present was contained in a slim, black velvet box. Beside me, Hermione was mumbling something under her breath worriedly. Pursing my lips, I took a deep breath and stretched forward to take up the card.

"Arty," Hermione started hurriedly, but I'd already clamped my hand around it. When nothing happened, she sighed heavy and I felt my shoulders sag in relief. Clearing my throat, I ripped through the envelope and pulled the card out with a squirming in the pit of my stomach. Inside, the message read; _Happy birthday, Artemis. I'm sorry. Love, Dad_

"Oh dear lord," Hermione whispered, running a shaky hand through her hair. "Sorry for what?"

"Does it matter?" I scowled, shredding the card into two pieces before setting it on the bedside table and taking my wand out of my back pocket. _"Incendio!"_ The card burst into flames, and Hermione cursed quietly, hurriedly moving to put out the fire before anything else could be burnt.

"Could you _please_ not do that again?" she pleaded weakly, waving the smoke away from her face.

Scowling, I slipped my wand back into my pocket and turned back toward the present. It was jewellery, that much was obvious before I'd even opened the box. But why Black would send me jewellery was a mystery.

Right up until I saw the necklace inside.

It was a small, oval locket made of what appeared to be white gold suspended on a delicately laced chain. The front was decorated with a spiral pattern that I'd only ever seen once before. When Hermione saw it, she gasped and pointed. "Oh my, is that . . .?"

Grinding my teeth together, I held the locket against my left forearm. Not only were the pattern identical, but the moment the metal touched my skin, the pattern on it shifted until a bright green colour. Pursing my lips, I turned the locket over and noticed a strange crest with a banner wrapped around the bottom, though the writing was too small to read. Biting the inside of my lip, I prized the locket open and felt my chest constrict when I saw the pictures inside.

One, I recognised immediately as Black, though he was stood with his arms around a woman I'd never seen before. She had a slim, elegant face with dull, blue eyes that shone strangely and curls of mahogany hair that had been draped over one side of her face. I realised with a choking sound in my throat that this must be my mother, Selena. She and Black were smiling and laughing at the camera, oblivious to the despair he was about to cause.

The other picture was somehow worse. In it, Selena was stood between two people I recognised as Lily and James Potter. The Potters themselves were smiling just as happily as my mother was, each holding a baby in their arms. It wasn't hard to jump to the conclusion that these children were obviously me and Harry, but the knowledge that I now held the evidence that not only had Black been close to the Potters, but they'd also been friends with my mother, made my knees weak.

Hermione gulped, watching me slump onto the edge of my bed, still staring at the pictures inside the locket. "I'm sorry, Artemis," she muttered.

I shook my head. "Don't be. I'm fine."

She laughed sadly, sitting down beside me. "No, Artemis, you're not. You need to speak to Mia and Luke. And Lupin too, when you get the chance. He is your Uncle, after all."

"Yeah, and he's been so upfront with the truth up to now, hasn't he?" I grumbled.

"You've never asked him outright before," she pointed out. "I can come with you, if you want?"

My lips tugged into a grateful smile as I looked across at her. "After the holidays," I promised. "I want to hear it from Mia first. Adam said she and Luke were at Hogwarts with Black and the Potters. I need to know how I ended up with them. They don't exactly seem the sort to get along with a man like Black."

"Neither do the Potters," Hermione reminded me and I dropped my gaze. "It wasn't just the Williams he fooled, Arty. And you don't know that it was him that took you to them. It could have been your mother."

I gulped hard, blinking a few more times than necessary. "So what happened to her?"

She didn't answer, and I sniffed loudly, stuffing the locket into my pocket and standing up. "I'd better get going, anyway," I said, forcing myself to use a normal tone of voice as I snapped my trunk shut. "I sent Mia and Luke a letter last night saying that I was coming home for Christmas and they'll kill me if I miss the train."

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Arty?" Hermione grimaced, angling herself to face me. "You ran away from home over summer because of that tattoo and now you want to be separated from him for two weeks?"

"I have to, Hermione," I insisted with a frown. "I'm not sitting around the common room arguing with him or staring at the wall in silence. Besides, I _have_ to talk with Mia, you know that."

She sighed heavily and stood up, pulling me into a tight hug. "Just be careful, okay?" I nodded with a tight smile, allowing her to take one end of my trunk and lead the way down the stairs.

We headed down the Great Hall in silence. I couldn't help keeping one hand wrapped tightly around the locket I still had in the pocket of my jeans. It obviously had something to do with my family, and not just my parents. The pattern on the front was enough to prove that. So would Lupin recognise it if I showed it to him? Would he know where I got it from? And if the patterned tattoo on my forearm was something past through my family, did it come from Black's side, or Lupin's?

"Hey!" Evie grinned as we stepped into the Great Hall. We'd left the luggage with everyone else's and Hermione was now dragging me inside to make me eat before I left. "Heard you were going home for Christmas?"

"Yeah," I said, trying not to notice Harry and Ron slumped over the table further into the Hall. "Figured I should apologise for running away over summer."

"Got that right," she snorted.

"I know, I was wrong," I sighed with a roll of my eyes, dropping into the seat beside her. Opposite us, Sarah, Ginny and a fourth year girl I didn't know were busying eating their breakfast and muttering about something under their breaths. Until Ginny caught sight of me, and she elbowed the others in to silence quickly. "What's going on?" I frowned, glancing between the three of them. The fourth year girl flushed bright red and muttered something at Evie about talking to Flitwick about her homework before rushing off.

Ginny, on the other hand, straightened out and cleared her throat. "I heard you had an argument with Harry yesterday."

Evie snorted. "Not exactly out of the ordinary, Ginny."

I shot Evie a cool look before turning back to Ginny, frowning at her. "Who said that?"

"No one," she shrugged. "Harry and Ron were in the common room last night when I finished my detention with Snape. Ironic, really, since they were arguing about _your_ argument."

"What did you hear?" Hermione breathed, wide-eyed.

Ginny's eyebrows pulled together as she glanced between the two of us, obviously working out that it was about something she shouldn't know as quickly as I was figuring out Harry had no reason to keep it quiet. "Nothing much," she said slowly. "Just something about how Arty had saved Harry's life as often as he's saved hers, and something about not being able to ignore her even if he wanted to, which I just figured was because . . . well, because it's Arty, right?"

Evie and Sarah laughed loudly, and even my lips tugged at the sides. "Thanks for that, Ginny."

She beamed at me. "Anytime. Now are you going to tell us what's going on?"

My smile faded. "Nothing," I shrugged. "You know that Harry and me don't see eye to eye. It's nothing new."

"No, but _that_ is," Sarah hissed over the table, jerking her head toward Harry and Ron. I risked a glance in their direction and felt my fists clench when I noticed his eyes were narrowed, his fists were balled and his face was pale as he snarled something across the table at Ron.

"Wow," Evie whistled under her breath. "Has he ever actually been that angry?"

"Probably not," I mumbled, gulping hard. "Shouldn't we be going? The train-"

"Doesn't leave for another two hours," Ginny scowled. "Spill. What the hell is wrong with you guys?"

"I thought the two of you were getting on better this year?" Sarah frowned. "It doesn't make sense."

"No, it doesn't," I agreed, pushing myself to my feet. "But then these things happen, right? Excuse me." Gulping hard, I turned and hurried out of the Great Hall, ignoring Evie and Ginny when they called out after me.

I had no idea where I was planning to go, but I ended up back beside the luggage, slowing down to a normal walk and running my hands through my hair. How had things got so bad so quickly? What were the odds that the one year Harry and I start getting along better is the same year that we find out my father handed his parents to Voldemort? The same year Harry had almost proved everyone right and kissed me in the middle of a dark, secret passage? Almost as if I was thinking too much about Harry, my eyes fell on a trunk with his name scrawled on the side. My eyebrows pulled together and I stepped forward, sure I was seeing things.

"Remind me why you were heading home again?" a voice came, and I spun around as my heart leapt in surprise. Harry was stood behind me with his arms folded over his chest and his eyes narrowed.

"Oddly enough, to get away from you," I snapped, yesterday's bad mood immediately hitting me like a wrecking ball again.

"And that's going to make you feel better, is it?" he scowled, tugging his sleeve back for a split second, showing me the red, irritated tattoo on his forearm. "You ran away from home when I was only going to London. You think it's a good idea to push it that far?"

"No," I replied shortly. "But I'd rather deal with that than spend my Christmas break anywhere near you."

"Well then you're going to be disappointed," he shrugged. "Looks like I'm headed home too."


	16. Fifteen: Answers

"You blew up your Aunt," I snarled as Harry and I stepped off the Hogwarts Express at Platform 9 and ¾. Most of the other students had already made their way onto the platform, and in the distance, I could see Will, Evie, Liam and Sarah hovering and searching the platform, most likely for me. None of them were particularly happy when Harry insisted that I stay with him. They weren't the only ones. One minute he wanted nothing to do with me, and the next, he was controlling my life.

Still, I wasn't in the mood to argue any more than absolutely necessary, and I didn't fancy having to answer my family's questions, so I followed Harry to the last compartment on the train and spent the majority of the journey in silence, making up for what little sleep I'd managed to get the night before.

"And you ran away from home," he replied with a small shrug of his shoulders. My jaw locked as I followed him down the platform, and I refused to meet his gaze when I felt it burning through my expression. He sighed heavily. "Because of me," he added reluctantly. "Now I'm here because of you. Guess this makes us even."

I scoffed sourly. "Not even close, Potter." He lifted an eyebrow coolly and I couldn't help smirking a little. "Nice try though." Without another word, I led the way off the platform and through the barrier to King's Cross station. The moment I'd stepped through, I was greeted with a loud, shrill welcome.

"Artemis!" Mia beamed, hurrying forward and wrapping me in a tight hug. "Honey, I was so happy when you said you were coming home for Christmas!"

_Only because you have no idea why I'm here,_ I thought to myself, but I smiled back tightly. "Things are pretty . . . tense at Hogwarts." A snort sounded behind me and I glanced back at Harry with a scowl.

Mia's expression wavered. "Harry," she smiled. "Nice to see you. I didn't expect to see you back for Christmas."

He stared at her for a moment, and I was almost sure he was trying to decide if she was guilty of something. I felt my muscles tense, but before I could say anything, he relaxed and nodded toward a group of people behind her. "Neither did they."

I followed his gaze toward the three Dursleys, who were stood with possibly the most furious expressions I'd ever seen. Mia cleared her throat awkwardly. "They seem . . ."

"Awful," I finished shortly with a frown. "You should have stayed at Hogwarts."

"So should you," Harry scowled. My fists clenched at my sides.

Mia paused for a moment. "Maybe you should stay with us," she suggested, and I couldn't help shooting her a dark look. Having to be near him was one thing, but living in the same house for two weeks? The Gryffindor Tower was bad enough.

Harry glanced at me coolly. "I'll be fine, Mrs Williams. Merry Christmas." Smiling at her half-heartedly, he ignored me and moved toward the Dursleys.

I watched him go with a roll of my eyes. "You really shouldn't have said that, Mia," I grimaced, allowing her to take my trunk and lead me through the station.

"Apparently not," she muttered. "Is something going on between the two of you?"

I lifted an eyebrow. "Going on? Like what?" She gave me a deliberate look, her cheeks flushing slightly. I choked loudly. "You think – no, Mia! We just . . . My . . ." I could tell she didn't believe me, and the memory of him kissing me was suddenly back again, this time sending odd shudders down my spine. "It's a long story, and this really isn't the place to start talking."

She frowned. "About?"

The answer was out of my mouth before I could stop it. "Sirius Black."

She gasped in surprise, and I actually had to catch her arm to stop her from falling. Pursing my lips, I kept one arm looped through Mia's and my other hand latched around my trunk, moving through the station until we reached her car. She was still shocked and absolutely terrified if the look in her eyes was anything to go by, but she dutifully put my trunk in the back of the car and climbed into the driver's seat.

Predictably, the ride home was silent. I wasn't entirely sure what she thought I knew, or what she thought I was going to ask next, but knowing that this was her reaction after I'd only said the man's name didn't fill me with confidence. So naturally, I had already steeled myself for the worst as we drew up outside the house.

It was already dark out, and through the front window I could see Luke hauling Rosie into his arms with a big grin and I suddenly felt guilty for coming back. All I was going to do with ruin their Christmas. But now, with the look on Mia's face, I wasn't going to get out of it either.

"Take your trunk upstairs," she instructed under her breath. "Give me five minutes to put Rosie to bed, and then we'll talk, okay?" I gulped, nodding once and moving to take my trunk out of the car. "Arty, just listen to me for a moment," Mia rushed suddenly, stepping in front of me and taking my arms tightly. Her eyes were shining in worry. "Whatever happens in there, I love you, okay? No matter what anyone tells you, you are my daughter, and I'll fight anyone who says otherwise, understand?"

"I understand," I replied in a croaking voice. Before she could move, I threw my arms over her shoulders and hugged her tightly. She laughed shakily, squeezing me once and then helping me taking my trunk out of the back.

The moment we stepped through the door, Luke grinned widely. "Artemis!" he greeted in a hushed whisper, cradling Rosie against his chest as her eyes started to close. "Welcome home!"

"Thanks," I smiled as Mia hurried forward to take Rosie from her husband's arms. Luke's expression wavered a little when she wouldn't meet his eyes, and I gulped hard, turning to pick my trunk up. "I'll just put this away."

"I'll take it," Luke insisted, waving me away and taking the trunk off me. "There's some Butterbeer in the kitchen if you want it. Your Uncle Dexter bought you some when you didn't go on any of the Hogsmeade trips."

"Oh," I said, my stomach dropping through the ground. "That's great, Luke, thanks." He frowned slightly, but nodded once and started up the stairs after Mia and Rosie. Taking a ragged breath, I strode through to the kitchen and poured myself a goblet of Butterbeer, my hands shaking as I worked. For only the second time in my life, I felt my throat closing and tears welling in the back of my eyes.

"So how's school, kid?" Luke's voice came as he entered the kitchen, yawning widely. I sniffed, turning away and taking another breath in a vain attempt to calm myself down. There was a moment's silence. "Artemis? What's wrong?" I glanced at him over my shoulder as Mia stepped through the door, her face already pale and her hands clamped together tightly. Luke straightened, his eyes flicking between the two of us. "Is someone going to tell me what's going on?" he insisted.

"I was in Hogsmeade yesterday," I blurted. "I hadn't gone before, and I wanted to get some things for Christmas. We called in The Three Broomsticks while we were passing, and the Minister of Magic was there, talking to a few of the teachers." I hesitated, trying to measure their reactions. "They didn't know I could hear them."

Luke's face darkened. "What did they say?"

"A lot," I admitted with a shaky breath. "Like how Sirius Black handed Lily and James Potter to Voldemort, how he married my Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher's sister, and how the two of them are my parents."

Nothing but an awkward silence followed my words. Mia was leant in the doorway, her lips quivering and her arms wrapped around her body like she was afraid she'd fall apart. On the opposite side of the kitchen, Luke had gone rigid, his fists balled and his eyes narrowed. Never before in my life had I ever seen him this angry, not even when I accidentally set the house on fire on my seventh birthday.

Still, I couldn't just stand here all night. Now that the worst was over, I needed answers. I needed to be able to make sense of this before I returned to Hogwarts and confronted Lupin, who was most certainly next on my list of priorities. "You didn't think it was a good idea to tell me?"

"H-Honey, we could never find the right time," Mia mumbled, and I couldn't help laughing.

"When he broke out of Azkaban to kill my best friend, maybe?" I suggested.

She gasped, wide-eyed. "Don't be absurd, Artemis, he _can't_ be after Harry!"

Luke scoffed darkly, shaking his head and running his hands through his hair. "All these years," he growled darkly. "Everything that man has done and you're still defending him?"

"Still?" I frowned. Mia shot Luke an irritated look, shuffling anxiously under my burning gaze. "Alright look. I've just found out my father is a mass murdering madman by overhearing the Minister of Magic gossiping about it in the local pub. The two people who've been my parents for the past twelve years didn't bother saying a word, and apparently, I've been being taught Defence by my Uncle, who hasn't said a single word about Black or Selena, and this is before I even start on what this is doing to Harry, so someone had better start talking. Quickly."

There was a moments silence, in which Mia moved her lips soundlessly and Luke scowled at me in deep thought. "We met your father back in Hogwarts," Mia started with a gulp. "He, James and your Uncle were a couple of years ahead of us, but back then, he was one of the nicest guys I knew."

"_Thought_ you knew," Luke corrected sourly.

Mia's jaw tightened. "It wasn't until a year or so later that I met your mother. From what I can tell, she had a rather tough childhood so she didn't meet your father until they were in their sixth year."

"Yeah, and they were inseparable afterwards," Luke spat. "Right up until he got her killed."

I felt the air disappear around me. My stomach clenched and my head spun. My hand automatically reached out to the work tops to catch me as my knees caved. All of a sudden, my eyes burned and my throat tightened and I found I couldn't breathe properly.

"She – she –"

"Luke!" Mia scolded and I felt her arms around me in the same second. I could barely see her through the tears. "Oh god, Artemis, I'm so sorry, you should never have heard like that, I'm sorry, I-"

"No, stop!" Luke yelled. "Why shouldn't she hear it as it is? Her _father_ is the reason Selena is dead and what did he do next? Abandon his daughter with the ex-girlfriend he dumped the moment her mother arrived on the scene then trade his best friend to the darkest wizard of all time! There isn't a nice way to hear this, Mia, and the more you stand there trying to soften the blow, the more you're playing right into his hands!"

"How dare you," she breathed, dangerously quiet. "Do you even care how she feels? She's _our_ daughter, Luke!"

"And why is that?" he spat back. "Because Black batted his eyelashes at you and you melted? He didn't want her here because of you, he wanted her here because of that bloody Potter kid, who quite frankly is just as likely to get her killed as he was for Selena!"

Without thinking, I yanked myself out of Mia's grip and smacked Luke sharply across the face, tears streaming down my cheek. Mia squeaked in panic, but did nothing to pull me back. "Don't speak about him like that," I snarled. "You know when all of this started coming out, he as good as hated me, and still he's the only one who's actually there for me. He can't stand to look at me and think my father killed his parents, and still, he came home to the _Dursleys_ because he didn't want to leave me alone, so don't even think about comparing him to that man, do you understand me?"

Luke took a ragged breath, massaging his jaw line with a scowl. "You have no idea what's going on," he muttered. "Why your parents were together in the first place. That kind of power, that kind of magic isn't right. It's dangerous, Artemis, and I've been praying since the first time you called me Daddy that you were different. But I was wrong, wasn't I? You and Potter are exactly the same as they were."

"And what's that?" I asked through my teeth.

"I don't know," he snorted darkly, shaking his head. "Ask your dear Uncle. All I know is you're dangerous, the pair of you, and it came back to bite us the first time. I'm not sure I can watch it do the same again."

My face fell. I might not know what he was talking about, but I couldn't fail to mistake that. "You want me gone," I breathed.

"No," Mia rushed, hurrying forward and pulling me back. "No, Artemis, you aren't going anywhere, no one is."

"Don't, Mia!" Luke scowled. "I've been praying since her third birthday she was different, but look at her! Look at what happened the first time! Are you really willing to let it slide? You're going to stand by and watch her and Potter wreck our lives – _Rosie's_ life – for Black?"

Mia frowned, holding me tightly. "No, I won't. But I will do it for Artemis. _My_ daughter. The girl who spends every minute she can helping us, or looking out for her sister and her cousins. The same girl who stood against You-Know-Who twice and won. And you know what? I'll do it for Harry, too."

It wasn't the reaction that he was expecting. Even in his anger, his face slackened and his shoulders sagged. It took a few seconds for him to find his voice. "I won't stand by and watch," he murmured.

"Then you know where the door is," Mia choked, sniffing once and straightening out in determination. I wanted to say something, anything to keep Luke here, but the horror at what this had come to made me purse my lips to stop them shaking.

Before any of us could move, someone knocked sharply on the door and I found myself moving just to give me something to do. Sniffing loudly and wiping the back of my sleeve across my cheeks, I took a deep breath and pulled the door open.

My mouth went dry as Harry caught his breath on the doorstep, his skin red from the cold winter wind and his black hair ruffled even more than usual. "Arty," he breathed, his eyebrows pulling together a little. "What's wrong?"

I burst before I could say a word, and the tears were suddenly streaming down my cheeks. Without a word, he stepped over the doorstep and pulled me into a hug, closing the door behind him. "Where's Mia and Luke?" he muttered, still holding me tightly. That just made me cry harder and only the sound of footsteps coming toward us made me attempt to choke them back.

"Oh," Mia breathed. "Oh god, bring her through would you, dear?" Harry nodded, steering me through the living room door and into the middle of the room.

"Oh, this is brilliant," Luke grumbled. "Why not just open the door and _ask_ Black to kill us all?"

I looked up, just in time to see Harry's jaw slacken in surprise and Mia's face set in absolutely fury. "Get out," she ordered, snapping her fingers at Luke and pointing to the door. His face fell. "I'm serious Luke. If you can't accept this, then leave."

"You've got to be kidding me," he glowered, with a locked jaw. "You're choosing Black? Again? After everything he put you through? Everything he's done?" Harry went rigid beside me, but his grip only doubled.

"She's _our_ daughter, Luke!" she insisted again, and my heart swelled at the lengths this woman was going to, all to protect me. "And she needs our help. If you want to leave, no one is going to stop you. But me and Rosie are staying put."

Luke's eyes widened. "You can't keep Rosie near all this, Mia, please! Just look at the two of them! It's starting all over again!"

"And we'll deal with it, just like we did last time," she said through gritted teeth. "It isn't going to be easy, but she needs family, and Rosie needs her big sister."

"This is insane, Mia," Luke breathed, running his hands over his face.

"No, this is _right._"

For a moment, no one moved or said a word. Then the very thing we all knew was coming happened and I thought in that moment Black had actually caused my world to fall apart.

"Fine," Luke frowned, striding forward and grabbing his jacket off the back of the armchair by the window. "But I'll be back for Rosie. There's no way on earth I'm leaving her here with them two." He didn't look at me as he spoke, and something flinched in Harry's face.

"That's it?" he scowled. Luke went rigid, glowering at the thirteen year with sheer hatred. I wasn't entirely surprised if he was comparing him to Black. "She's been your daughter for twelve years and all it takes for you to walk out on her is her finding out Black is her father?"

"Don't lecture me on what you don't understand, Potter," Luke growled. "Come back to me in a few years when the two of you have ruined each other's lives." In that second, I wasn't sure which of us wanted to hit him more.

"For what it's worth," Luke continued, as if he was suddenly in pain. "I'm sorry, Artemis. I wish things were different but-"

"They aren't, so forget it," I scowled through my tears. "Don't worry though, considering who my biological father is you didn't really have much to live up to, did you?" His eyes flashed, but all he did was take a deep breath before turning out of the room.

The front door slammed behind him, and Mia dropped into the chair to the left, her eyes oddly out of focus and shining with tears. I, on the other hand, was still sat in the middle of the sofa, wrapped in Harry's arms with a strange, tingling feeling like I was trying to detach myself from my current situation.

Sniffing loudly, I dipped my hand into my pocket and pulled out the white gold locket Black had sent me for my birthday. Harry glanced down at it, watching me prize it open. When he caught sight of his parents, he stiffened next to me and I choked loudly, fresh tears burning my eyes.

Slowly, he took the locket from my fingers gently and held it up higher. "This is your mother?" he asked quietly. "Selena?"

I nodded, blinking past another wave of tears. "She's dead, Harry," I whispered. "She's gone."

He cursed under his breath as I lost control, blubbering into my hands. He pulled me closer, but he must have known there was nothing he could say or do. My mother was gone, and I'd never be able to remember her.


	17. Sixteen: Family History

Harry stayed in the guest bedroom that night. Or at least, he was supposed to. He spent most of the night sat on the floor of our bathroom listening to me cry and curse Luke under my breath, unsure what to do to calm me down. Mia wasn't much better, and every time I past her room I could hear her crying quietly into her pillows. She'd moved Rosie's cot into her room, like she was paranoid Luke would sneak in and kidnap her.

The next morning, Mia made Harry and I some breakfast while we tried to distract Rosie from Luke's absence. Since he usually gave her breakfast before he went to work, he was the first person she'd asked for. Luckily, since she didn't get to see Harry much, his presence distracted her better than anything Mia or I could have said.

"Well, at least she likes me," he joked quietly as he finally managed to get her to eat the last of her scrambled eggs.

I smiled weakly. "Thanks for this Harry. You didn't have to stay, you know."

"Arty, the state of you last night, I wasn't going to walk away and sleep soundly, was I?"

"No, but you might have slept a little," I shrugged with a grimace. He shook his head dismissively, catching Rosie when she tried to jump out of her highchair to get at Snow, Mia's Husky. "Thanks anyway."

He glanced at me out of the corner of my eyes. "Look, Arty, I'm sorry," he muttered. "You know, for the other day. I was surprised, that's all. And you-"

I lifted an eyebrow. "Look like him?" He winced, but didn't correct me. "I know, it's horrible." Pursing my lips, I took my locket out of the pocket I'd been keeping it in, spinning it in my hands. "I think he sent me this."

Harry hesitated, staring at it like he wasn't sure what to say. "What makes you think that?"

"It was in a parcel a guy in Diagon Alley gave me over summer," I shrugged. "Thinking about it, it looked like he was cursed. He didn't know what he was doing. Plus, he'd written a birthday card inside it."

"Where's the card?"

"I burnt it."

He laughed darkly. "So that's what Hermione was going on about. You starting a fire in the girl's dorm?"

"Probably," I nodded. "I was going to tell someone. I mean, if he managed to curse that guy, that means he has a wand, right? But . . ."

Harry sighed with a slight smile. "But they'd take the locket off you," he finished. I dropped my gaze, running the chain through my fingers absent-mindedly. "Hey, I get it. It's the only thing you have of your mother. I'd be the same."

"I think I might be able to help with that," Mia's voice came, and she sat herself at the dining table, placing a large cardboard box in front of me before scooping Rosie into her arms. She looked almost ill, with dark circles beneath her eyes and remarkably pale skin, but she still smiled at me and nodded toward the box. "Pictures of my school years. I never showed you before because I was close with your father for a long time, and your mother when we finally met. She was a remarkable woman, even back then." Mia chuckled, turning to Harry. "Constantly with Lily, of course. Not that your mother appreciated James hanging around her all the time."

Harry's face took on an expression I'd only ever seen once before, when Hagrid had given him the photo album of his parents. He looked halfway between curiosity and caution, like he needed to hear about his parents but was afraid it might hurt. I'd never understood the feeling before now.

Mia smiled kindly at him. "They didn't exactly get on in their earlier years," she told him. "But of course, James was determined and he eventually managed to convince her to go out with him. Honestly, I wasn't at all surprised when I heard she'd given in. I think she was just winding him up for a long time."

Harry smiled, chuckling slightly like he was laughing at his own joke. "I think I have a picture of their wedding in here somewhere," Mia said thoughtfully, setting Rosie into her highchair again and rifling through the box. "Of course, I still spoke to them after Hogwarts. They even invited Luke and me to their wedding. Luke didn't attend, he was working. Or at least, that's what he told me."

Harry and I shared a dark look when she cut off, gulping hard and blinking a few more times than necessary. "Oh, here we go," she suddenly smiled, handing me a photo. In it, three girls stood side by side. One, I recognised as a younger Mia, with her blonde hair scrapped into a ponytail and her grey eyes shining happily. The second, I recognised as Lily Potter, with bright green eyes, a wide smile and her auburn hair flowing around her shoulders. And in the middle stood Selena, her mahogany hair braided back and her dark blue eyes fixed on the camera as she laughed.

"Listen to me Artemis," Mia sighed, taking her seat again. "I'll tell you everything you want to know about your parents, but it isn't exactly easy listening, especially not now. If I was telling you these things when you were a baby, it would be so different. All I know of Black is good things. No one ever suspected he was capable of doing something like that. I don't think any of us wanted to believe it."

"I have to know," I gulped quietly.

"I can leave, if you want," Harry started, pushing himself up to his feet.

"No," I frowned, shaking my head. "You deserve to hear this as much as I do." He hesitated, then slowly lowered himself back down to the table."

Mia nodded, then took a deep breath and angled herself toward the two of us. "After Hogwarts, your mother worked with the Ministry for a long time," she told me softly. "She was Head Auror for years. Didn't even have to get promoted, she was just given the top job straight away. She married your father quite young too. Of course, back then, it was a dark time. No one was entirely sure who to trust, or even who was running the country, Fudge or You-Know-Who. But your mother kept a lot of people going, especially your father. Every time I saw her she was smiling, no matter how tough the job got. And then she had you, and she only got happier. She worried constantly, of course, and she was forever hounding Sirius's footsteps to make sure you were safe."

I couldn't help snorting darkly. "She trusted him to keep me safe?"

"Whatever he is and whatever he's done, he's still your father, Artemis," Mia frowned. "And there isn't a single thing anyone can tell me that would make me think he'd ever hurt you."

"I very much doubt that," I scowled, unable to stop my eyes finding Harry. He didn't meet my gaze.

"Sirius was a good man back then," she sighed. "If anything changed him, it was your mother's death."

I gulped, shifting slightly. "Luke said he killed her." Harry choked on gulp of pumpkin juice, his face darkening furiously and his hands clenching, but Mia barely even blinked.

"He didn't kill her, Artemis," she muttered. "Luke is convinced that her being married to him was the reason she was killed. After all, he was one of the only wizards in the country not afraid to stand against You-Know-Who and he didn't make himself many friends because of it. But the truth was, Selena was a very powerful witch and she would have died to keep her loved ones safe. I can't tell you what actually happened the day she died. Her body was never found. But something changed in Sirius after that. He never let you out of his sight, he rarely left the house. The first time I saw him after she died was the day he brought you here."

"He brought me here?" I blinked.

Mia gulped, nodding. "Halloween night."

"The night my parents died," Harry mumbled, and I felt my stomach drop.

Even Mia was a little pale as she continued. "I have no idea what happened before that, but he arrived here just before midnight, pleading with me and Luke to take you in. Of course, he'd barely finished asking the question when I had you in my arms. You were such an adorable baby. But Luke had never got on well with Sirius, and the two of them almost got into a duel then and there."

"What?" I gulped. "Why?"

"Well, Luke kept asking questions, like why you had to stay here, or why he wasn't taking you to Remus, and Sirius was getting quite impatient. He was obviously in a hurry, pale and frightened he was, but I had no idea where he was heading. He muttered something about Peter and James and Lily, but by that point, you were getting agitated, and you were such a difficult child at that age. It was killing Sirius to see you like that, so he made sure I swore I'd keep you under my roof for as long as it took then left before Luke could stop him."

My chest was hurting. I couldn't tell whether it was my heart thudding erratically or the freezing air that suddenly seemed to be wrapped around me. Hearing Mia try to convince me that my father actually cared about me – after abandoning me for twelve years while he served time for killing his best friends – made me sick to the stomach.

As though she felt she couldn't make it any worse, Mia sighed heavily and ran her hands over her face. "Arty, there's something else I should probably tell you," she started, and her tone made me shudder on the spot. "When Harry was born, James and Lily made Sirius and Selena his godparents," she told me carefully, and from the look on Harry's face, this wasn't anything new. "But . . . well, it worked the opposite way around too."

I hesitated for a moment. "Are you telling me . . . James and Lily Potter were my godparents?"

Mia gulped, smiling shakily. "That's exactly what I'm telling you." She glanced between Harry's hanging jaw and my paling face with a troubled expression. "You have to understand that, whatever happened on Halloween night that year, James and Sirius were inseparable, and Lily and Selena were no different. When things got . . . tough for Selena and Sirius, the Potters were the first people to offer their help, and they were usually the only ones they ever trusted."

Harry scoffed darkly. "That doesn't seem to mean much."

Her lips pursed for a moment, but she carried on like Harry hadn't said anything. "As Head Auror, Selena attracted a fair amount of attention, especially when it became clear she wouldn't be easy to manipulate or scare off. So when things got a little too close to home, she and Sirius decided that you needed to be protected and taken out of harm's way, until things had calmed down enough for you to stay with them again. Naturally, they took you to the Potter's place and as far as I can tell, you stayed there until your mother had died and Sirius couldn't bear to leave you alone."

My eyes bulged. "But I thought the Potters were in hiding back then?" I insisted, a growing discomfort growing in the pit of my stomach. "How did Black know where they were?"

Mia's eyebrows tightened and Harry's face was like thunder, but she just shrugged. "I don't know, Arty honey. It all happened so long ago, and I haven't seen or heard from anyone else remotely connected to the four of them for a long time. Granted, the official story raises a lot of questions, and only Black can answer them. Whether he'd ever do so truthfully is another matter, of course." Grimacing again, she pushed herself to her feet and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear affectionately. "I'm sorry, Artemis, that it all came out like this, and that I can't tell you as much as you deserve. Both of you," she added pointedly, sending Harry a meaningful look. He nodded once, but didn't meet her gaze. Hesitating another second, she sighed heavily and scooped Rosie into her arms.

Just as I was about to ask if Luke had been making any trouble, someone hammered loudly on the door. Immediately, Mia went rigid, her grip on Rosie tightening slightly. "I'll get it," I rushed, jumping to my feet and hurrying around the table before anyone could stop me.

As it turned out, it was only Uncle Dexter, Aunt Mary and Adam, all stood on the doorstep with a range of expressions. Uncle Dexter looked furious, like his barely contained anger was about to explode. Beside him, Aunt Mary was hovering between appalled and shocked, her eyes scanning my face closely to find the answers. Last of all, Adam had his hands plunged into his pocket and his shoulders thrown back, his eyebrows tight as if he was expecting trouble.

My first thought was that they agreed with Luke. That for whatever reason, they thought having me here was jeopardising the safety of their real, blood-related niece and they hated Mia for keeping me under the same roof.

Then Aunt Mary let out a sigh of relief and yanked me into a tight hug, kissing my forehead gently. "Oh, Arty," she breathed. "I'm so sorry, honey, I can't _believe_ that man!" I wanted to ask which one, Luke or Black, but my voice caught in my throat and my eyes threatened to flood again.

"Is he here?" Uncle Dexter snarled through his teeth.

"Dad," Adam warned with a frown. "We said we were here for the girls, not Luke. Think what Rosie would see if you started attacking her father." Uncle Dexter shot his son a quick, apologetic look, but his muscles didn't relax.

"Is Rosie here?" Aunt Mary asked as she released me. "He hasn't taken her, has he?"

I shook my head, clearing my throat. "She's in the kitchen with Mia and Harry."

"Harry?" Adam blinked. "Harry Potter? I didn't know he was here. Doesn't he hate spending time with the Dursleys?"

"Not as simple as that these days," I grumbled, more to myself than anyone else. Dropping my gaze, I stood back to let them in.

The moment Mia saw them, she burst into relieved tears, and Rosie soon followed suit. Though she was probably just confused, I managed to convince Mia to let her go long enough for me and Harry to take her back up to her room to calm her down. He didn't say much, leaning against the wall with a frown as I settled into the rocking chair in the corner of the room and opened her favourite book. Rosie almost instantly stopped crying, snuggling into my side with a sniff.

Like every other time I'd read her a story, she was asleep in minutes. Making sure not to disturb her too much, I put the book down and picked her up gently, settling her into her cot. The second I'd pulled back, Harry straightened thoughtfully.

"There's something they still aren't telling us," he insisted bluntly, and I wanted nothing more than to tell him he was just paranoid. Instead, I sighed heavily and nodded.

"I know," I admitted. "And I think it has something to do with that thing on your arm." Harry shifted, scratching the tattoo through his jacket. Glancing at him, I managed a weak smile. "Don't bother trying to convince me to talk to someone about it."

"But Artemis-"

"Lupin," I interrupted quickly, and Harry fell silent. "I think it's time I had a heart to heart with my dear Uncle."


	18. Seventeen: Merry Christmas

Christmas didn't actually turn out too badly after that. Mia had insisted that Harry stay with us rather than his Aunt and Uncle, and since he was speaking to me again now, he didn't argue too much. He ended up sharing a room with Adam, who officially moved in with his Aunt the moment he heard Luke was planning to come back for Rosie. Uncle Dexter, who had always been like a brother to Luke, had warned Mia's husband to steer clear of the house, and Mia's entire side of the family seemed to be united in their efforts to keep Luke away.

Christmas morning, and the five of us were awake at the crack of dawn. Adam and Harry looked a little worse for wear, but Mia seemed to be determined that Christmas was going to be special, for Rosie's sake more than anything else. So the rest of us dutifully slumped down the stairs about half past five in the morning, yawning and rubbing the sleep out of our eyes.

"How did we get so many presents?" Adam yawned, frowning at the overflowing tree. "I'm sure we didn't buy that much."

Mia shrugged. "Some are Harry's, obviously. A few owls arrived last night carrying some of them. And then Rosie has a lot, and you've got things from your Aunts, Uncles, cousins. There's all sorts down there, just start dishing them out."

I ended up collecting a small pile of my own presents when Rosie clambered onto my lap, insisting I help her unwrap and play with whatever everyone had bought her. As it turned out, even Harry had bought her something.

"What?" he shrugged at me as Rosie squealed in delight when he handed her a long parcel. "She's a little kid and since Mia's letting me stay here, it was the least I could do."

"God, you're so soft," I laughed with a roll of my eyes. He gave me a disapproving look, but grinned widely when Rosie shrieked and threw herself into his legs.

"Thank you!" she as good as screamed, and I glanced back to see a toy broomstick still half wrapped.

"You had to, didn't you?" I sighed with a small chuckle, and he just shrugged at me again as Rosie pulled me back to help her getting it out of its box. Luckily, the broomstick only hovered about a metre off the floor and it didn't go very fast, but she loved it.

"That was very generous of you, Harry," Mia smiled softly, watching Rosie fly around the garden on it a few hours later. "I've never seen her so happy!"

He laughed. "I know how she feels."

"She'll be on the Quidditch team next," Adam grinned.

While she was distracted, I managed to open the presents I'd received from the family, Hermione, Ron, Mr and Mrs Weasley, and Hagrid. Hermione had bought me a new perfume that smelt strongly of coconut, while Ron and Hagrid seemed to have emptied Honeydukes sweet shop. As usual, I received another hand-made jumper from the Weasleys along with a large box of fudge. On the other hand, Aunt Suzie had bought me a new pair of black combat boots to go with the expensive pair of skinny cream combat trousers and a gorgeous slim fitting white jumper Will and Evie had bought me, though I suspected Evie had picked them both out. Sarah had bought me an elegant looking enchanted compass, which was supposed to show the way to whatever you were looking for and Liam had filled a large box with Zonko's joke shop products with a note pleading with me to use half of them on Snape. Finally, Uncle Dexter and Aunt Mary had bought me a pair of silver earrings in the shape of thin, intricate wings that hung down the side of my neck.

"Christ!" Adam suddenly breathed from the other side of the room, and I looked up to see him stood beside Harry, the two of them staring wide eyed at something hovering at waist height.

It was a brand new broomstick, polished to within an inch of its life. The handle was a dark mahogany, and the tail end was still perfectly shaped. As it hovered, the broom actually shook in mid-air, like it couldn't wait to get out into the air. At the tip of its handle, the word _'Firebolt'_ was written in loopy, golden writing.

Even my jaw dropped, and I set the large package of sweets onto the floor and moved to get a better look. "That's a Firebolt," I said, completely unnecessarily. Harry nodded mutely, the wrapping still in his hands. "Who on Earth sent you that?"

"I don't know," he said slowly. "There was no note."

"Jesus, Harry, you were always a good Seeker in the first place," Adam snorted with a small laugh. "I can't believe I'm not going to see the Slytherins reactions to this!" I couldn't help smiling at that.

"They're going to be so devastated," I laughed. "Malfoy has no chance."

Harry spent the rest of Christmas using a broomstick care kit that Hermione had bought him for his birthday to polish the Firebolt obsessively, and when she wasn't busy flying her own in the garden, Rosie was sat watching him intently.

"I can't believe this," I mumbled, shaking my head at the pair of them from the kitchen doorway.

Mia chuckled at me. "Leave them to it. That boy has made Rosie's Christmas this year. We owe him big time."

"Never repeat that in front of him!" I pleaded, and her eyes shone as she laughed.

I almost hated the idea of going back to Hogwarts when the Christmas holidays came to an end. Going back meant I'd have to face Lupin and confront him about my parents, which was a conversation I'd avoided at all costs since Luke had walked out. At Mia's, everything was a lot simpler. But of course, the day came to head back and I felt any happiness and safety leave me entirely.

"You reckon Mia will be okay?" I murmured at Harry as he closed the compartment door behind us. We were back on the Hogwarts Express, heading straight toward the Uncle who'd as good as ignored me for twelve years. Out on the platform, Mia had Rosie in her arms, and the two of them were waving cheerfully at me as I hung out of the window. Beside her, Adam and Uncle Dexter were deep in conversation, while the youngest of Uncle Dexter's sons, Vincent, tugged on his sleeve of his robes with a scowl.

"They won't let Luke get to them," Harry said confidently, waving once at the group as the train started to move. "Honestly, I'm more concerned about where we're heading."

I sank into the seat by the window, scanning his face. "Black's still there, isn't he?"

Harry didn't answer, but his expression darkened a fraction. No one knew exactly where Sirius Black was, but reports in the _Daily Prophet_ suggested he'd been seen moving near Hogwarts. Of course, everyone _at _Hogwarts knew he was already there, but Dumbledore was still somehow keeping that out of the news. Aunt Suzie had been pestering Uncle Dexter all Christmas to give her an interview from the Auror Department about what they were doing to track him down, where he and Aunt Mary worked. Fortunately, after spotting a few dark looks between Harry and me, Mia had cut the conversation short and forbidden any more talk of the man under her roof. None of the family knew that he was my father, or that it had been the entire reason Luke and I had ended up arguing. Still, if Black was still at Hogwarts . . .

"He wouldn't try anything with Dumbledore so on edge now," I insisted, more to reassure myself than Harry. "If Voldemort was scared of him, surely Black would be too?"

"Considering Voldemort was always scared of Dumbledore, we've done a good job of getting on his nerves the past few years," Harry replied blandly. I shuddered, pulling a face and curling my legs up beneath me. "I'm not going to spend every day worrying about it, Arty. Shouldn't we focus on Lupin first?"

I scowled. "Um."

"I thought you got on with him?" he blinked in confusion.

"You mean right up until I found out that he was my Uncle and he's been ignoring the fact I even existed for the past twelve years?" Harry's face straightened. "What am I supposed to say to him? Lupin, I know my dead mother happens to be your sister, and by the way, maybe it's time you explain why my father's a mass murderer and I have a strange tattoo on my arm that burns when I spend too much time away from the son of the people my father betrayed?"

There was a moment's silence. "Maybe you should be a little more delicate than that," he suggested calmly.

"I don't have the patience for being delicate anymore, Harry," I sighed, leaning back in my seat. "If the Minister knows Black is my father, how many others do? How long is it until he turns to Uncle Dexter and tells him to warn the Auror Department that Black might try getting to me? Or until the _Daily_ _Prophet_ get wind of it? Can you imagine what they'd do with a story on how Black has a daughter and was married to the woman who _led_ the Auror Department? You don't think they'll find it a little strange she never noticed he was a Voldemort supporter?"

I could tell by the look on his face that he hadn't even started thinking about the repercussions of this news getting out, and apparently, knowing I couldn't stop thinking about it wasn't helping much.

"The Minister wouldn't let it get that far," he said uncertainly.

"Harry, he's using it as gossip!" I frowned. "He might not have much choice in the matter! I'd just rather not hear the rest of it like that again. After the feast, I'll head up to Lupin's office."

"You think he'll answer you?"

I snorted. "I wasn't really planning on giving him another option." Harry lifted an eyebrow cautiously, but nodded his support and let the conversation drop.

The rest of the journey passed much more enjoyably than the trip before Christmas. When the trolley came past our compartment, we bought an armful of chocolate and sweets each and I even let him talk through how to pull back in the race for the Quidditch Cup while I stuffed my face. Halfway there, Will, Evie, Sarah and Liam came to find us, and this time, Harry didn't argue when they settled themselves beside us and helped themselves to the food we'd bought. And just like before Christmas, the six of us easily slipped into casual conversation, laughing and joking amongst each other. Harry and Will even managed to convince Evie to help them ambush Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy Parkinson as they passed.

"Brilliant, Eves!" Will beamed at her, hauling her off her feet with a bone crushing hug as Parkinson's shrieks echoed down the halls. The rest of us laughed loudly at the siblings, and I found myself peering cautiously past the compartment door to see the destruction they'd caused. But I'd barely shifted a few inches when a sharp pain shot down my spine and I gasped, straightening out with a frown.

"Arty?" Sarah called behind me. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I said unconvincingly as I dropped into the seat by the door. The pain had left a tingling feeling down my back, but I shook it away and forced myself to re-join conversation, ignoring the looks from the others.

Nothing else eventful happened until the train had pulled into the station at Hogsmeade. The six of us had changed into our Hogwarts robes and dragged our luggage onto the platform when another shot of pain racked through my body. With no warning, I yelped, staggering in surprise and flinching when Will and Liam caught me before I hit the ground.

"What was that?" Liam blinked, hesitating as he and Will pulled me back to my feet. I shook my head silently, feeling my chest constrict in panic when the pain didn't vanish the way it had on the train. In front of me, Harry was watching cautiously, like he was ready to jump forward and push Will out of the way if I fell again.

"Nothing," I insisted quietly, hating the way everyone was staring at me like I was about to explode. Pursing my lips, I pulled my arms back and took a step forward. In the same second, a wave of nausea swept over me and my head spun as a blinding flash of pain shot across my ribs.

When I stumbled a second time, Harry caught me around the waist and pulled me upright, setting his expression. "Someone find a carriage," he instructed. "She needs the hospital wing."

I groaned. "Not again," I grumbled, but he ignored me. To the side, Sarah's eyes widened, but nodded and left her luggage with Liam, racing off to find a carriage. Allowing Will to take my other arm, Harry led the way after Sarah, with Evie and Will struggling behind us with all the luggage. Of course, we received a few strange glances at the two guys helped me into the carriage carefully, but I was past caring. There was only one problem on my mind.

"So much for talking to Lupin," I mumbled at Harry as he sat down beside me.

"Forget that for a minute," he said without hesitation. "Lupin isn't going anywhere." Frowning, he lifted his hand to press the back of it to my forehead. A cold shiver ran across my skin, relieving the pain for a split second. Then he pulled his hand back and I felt like I was burning up.

"Fever?" Liam asked in concern.

Harry nodded, and Evie leant closer with pursed lips. "I don't understand. She was fine over Christmas!"

"Let's just get her to the castle," Will insisted, pulling his sister back. "We'll worry about everything else later."

Unfortunately, the Dementors were still guarding the gates. As we passed, Harry shrank in his chair slightly, but I found the cold chill almost welcoming . . . in a sick _I'm dying_ kind of way. Thinking that I actually found the Dementors' soul-sucking affects relaxing worried me to no end, but I took a deep breath and focused on the end.

Then things got bad. _Really _bad. A fever and a little back pain is one thing. Nothing to rush for, right? The fever and pain would still be there in ten minutes when we reached the hospital wing. What did push things further was the sudden burning pain that seemed to be soaking into my skin on my left forearm.

And the feeling was mutual. Beside me, Harry's teeth were grinding, and I swear I could see smoke rising from his shirt sleeve. Clamping a hand over it, he shot me a silencing look and shook his head mutely. Without thinking, I wrapped my hand in his long enough to squeeze it tightly before letting go. He kept quiet, but I felt his arm relax against mine a little and I risked letting out a deep breath as the carriage drew to a halt.

"Sarah, could you do me a favour?" I managed to ask through gritted teeth as Will lowered me down to the ground. She jumped from the carriage behind me gracefully, completely unaware that Harry was wavering unsteadily on his feet behind her. "Could you go and get Professor Lupin please?"

She blinked. "Lupin? The Defence teacher?"

I nodded sternly. "Tell him that I need him in the hospital wing, and that's it's urgent. Oh, and this," I added reluctantly, keeping my eyes on Harry's unsteady form. _Not just me to think about these days,_ I told myself time and time again as I dipped my hand into my pocket and pulled out the white gold locket from Black. "Give him this. _Don't_ look inside, okay? He'll know what it is."

"Artemis," Harry started with a frown.

I ignored him, letting my eyes bore into Sarah's. "Go, quickly." My cousins exchanged uncertain looks, but Sarah nodded slowly and set off at a run, weaving through the other students and bolting into the Entrance Hall without stopping to say hello to her friends.

"You might not get that back," Harry told me sharply.

"I was aware," I replied, balling my fists when my voice cracked.

"Hospital wing," Will ordered, mistaking my weakness for pain. I didn't argue, staggering along beside him, Harry, Evie and Liam as we moved toward the castle. A few students started to say hello, before noticing I was almost being dragged through the halls and rapidly losing colour in my face.

When we finally got to the hospital wing, Harry was leaning against walls to keep him on his feet and my strength had all but abandoned me. My head was spinning, my skin was shivering and my heart beat seemed too loud and too dull in my ears. My left forearm was on fire, and I could have sworn I could feel blood dripping from my fingertips, but I kept it away from my cousins and prayed no one noticed.

Inside the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey, Sarah and Lupin were already waiting. The moment the door open, Lupin spun and my throat tightened at the expression on his face. He didn't hesitate before striding forward and taking me out of Will's hold, steering me toward the nearest bed and pulling the dividing curtain out.

"Sarah, Evie, Will, Liam," he rhymed off wryly. "Thank you for bringing her, but I need you to head to the feast."

"What?" all four complained loudly.

"She's our cousin!" Will snapped.

"And she needs rest," Lupin frowned. "Now leave before I give the four of you detention for the rest of term."

I gulped hard, eyeing Lupin's face cautiously. "Guys, it's fine," I assured them, my voice oddly quiet. "You can come back after the feast, right?"

Lupin glowered, obviously ready to argue, but after a pleading look, Madam Pomfrey nodded. "Of course." The Defence teacher locked his jaw, keeping whatever opinion he held to himself.

"Could you tell Ron and Hermione we're here, too?" I asked Evie quietly, and she nodded with a frown.

"Course," she smiled tightly, clutching my hand tightly in hers for a minute. Casting Harry an odd look, she let go of me and turned for the door, followed reluctantly by the rest of my family. Madam Pomfrey watched them go nervously, and the moment the door had closed behind them, she cleared her throat loudly. Scowling, Lupin whipped around and took his wand from his back pocket, pointing it at the door and mumbling under his breath. The lock clicked loudly and Harry and I shared an anxious look.

"Where did you get this?" Lupin demanded, holding the locket in front of my face. Harry glowered, opening his mouth to argue, but I waved him away, gulping at the pain in Lupin's eyes.

"Remus, give the girl some room!" Madam Pomfrey insisted softly. "Look at her! She's not well."

"It'll pass," he dismissed, but his expression softened considerably. "But the two of you are bleeding. Where?"

Instantly, my throat closed up and my muscles tensed. Lupin eyed my stance thoughtfully for a moment, then turned to Harry. He was stood at the end of the bed, clutching the rail to keep himself upright. Neither of us moved or said a word, and I saw panic flash in Harry's eyes. Taking a deep breath, Lupin pulled the chair behind him closer to the bed and sat himself down.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said, and I could see the truth written all over his face. "Either of you. But you sent Sarah for help, and I can't help you unless you let me."

I opened my mouth, but at the end of the bed, Harry flinched and I snapped it shut again, scowling in confusion. Forcing myself into action, I lifted my left forearm out, displaying a long, deep purple shirt stained red. Lupin hesitated, then took my hand gently in his and rolled my sleeve back.

"Oh my," Madam Pomfrey breathed, and Harry winced, his hands clenching tightly around the end of the bed. "Sit down, Potter," the matron ordered, suddenly business like. "If you think I'm letting you lose that much blood, you have another thing coming, young man!"

Lupin managed a weak smile in her direction, taking a bandage from the bedside table and beginning to clean and wrap my arm by hand. His hands shook as he worked, and as I watched, his eyebrows pulled closer and closer together.

"The locket," I croaked quietly, and his fingers slipped. "What it is?"

His eyes flicked up to meet mine briefly, then dropped back to his work. "It's been passed down through your family for hundreds of years. It's enchanted to take on its owner's DNA, almost like a Snitch in Quidditch. Wearing it gives it a measure of control of your pain levels. It was designed to aid you in situations exactly like this. It can't stop it, but it decreases the severity greatly."

I blinked, my heart pausing for a split second. My father, the mass murderer, sent me a locket to minimize my pain? The same man who'd given my godparents to Voldemort and abandoned me with a man who obviously cared nothing for me? I cleared my throat. "And why did I need it?"

Lupin shot me an amused, dark look. "Do you really need me to answer that?"

I gulped, risking a glance in Harry's direction. Madam Pomfrey had sat him on the side of the next bed, and his sleeve had been rolled up to his elbow while she worked. Meeting his gaze, I could tell he wasn't happy about speaking to Lupin but neither was I. Saying I was going to come clean with him was one thing, but it still felt wrong, and I knew Harry understood.

But we had to. We didn't have a choice any more.

"Sirius Black," I blurted with a flinch. Lupin froze. "Sirius Black sent me the locket."

"I know," he mumbled. "Keep that to yourself." I stared at him, but didn't say or do anything, allowing him to work in silence.

A few hours later – after my cousins, Ron and Hermione had visited and left – Harry was propped up against the pillows on my bed, Lupin was slouched in the armchair in front of us, and I was sat cross-legged as close to Harry as I dared. None of us had said a word since the others had left, but I found the silence strangely relaxing. Just knowing Lupin knew I wasn't entirely in the dark was relieving. Now I needed the rest of the truth.

With a deep breath, Lupin leant forward and rubbed his hands over his face, scanning both of our expressions before he started. "Unfortunately, I couldn't tell you more about your immediate family – _our_ family – even if I wanted to."

"Why?" Harry frowned.

"Because Mia Williams has told you all anyone can," he replied with a small shrug. "No one knows why Black acted the way he did, or why Selena never noticed something was wrong, or what happened to her."

I hesitated. "Okay," I said, shuffling. "So what about-" Cutting off, I winced sharply through my teeth and balled my fists. Beside me, Harry took a deep, steadying breath.

Lupin smiled sadly. "The tattoos? Well, that's a long, complex story, but I'll try my best." Shifting forward, he made himself comfortable and drew himself upright before he started. "A few hundred years ago, our ancestors noticed there was something fundamentally different amongst our family, compared to other wizarding families. See, a long time ago, an ancestor named Lucinda decided to try and ensure her family only chose wizarding partners to keep her bloodline clean."

I gawped. "That's awful!"

"Yes, it is," Lupin nodded. "Not in the least because of what she did to her own children."

Harry shuddered, scanning his face cautiously. "Which was?"

"She cursed her eldest son and daughter," Lupin replied simply. Harry's eyes widened and I felt my jaw slacken.

"Her own children?" I breathed. "What did she do to them?"

He sighed heavily. "She stopped them from ever falling in love. She thought that if she removed the irrational concept of love, removing the possibility of her children falling in love with a Muggle, that she'd be able to ensure her children married suitable partners. But she underestimated her daughter, Juliette."

Harry snorted. "What, like Romeo and Juliette?" I lifted an eyebrow and he rolled his eyes wryly. "A really old Muggle story about a guy called Romeo and a girl called Juliette who fall in love but their families don't get on. Long story short, they both die."

"Oh. Lovely."

"It is a little ironic," Lupin conceded. "Juliette was smart enough to realise what her mother had done, and in an effort to reverse it, she used a powerful love potion, altered in ways no one ever really understood, and magic like that should never be tampered with, not even by the people using it."

"Who did she give it to?" I asked, almost unwilling to know the answer.

"She took it herself," he answered without meeting my gaze. "And a Muggle boy she'd once known when she was a young girl. But, while she thought she was getting around her mother, it turned out that the boy hadn't been a Muggle after all. He was a Squib, born into a pureblood family, but with no abilities of his own. It was probably easier for him to say and act like he was a Muggle. So of course, when they had a child, the child was as pure-blooded as it's parents."

"So she went through all of that for nothing?" I blinked. "Remind me, why is this story important again?"

Lupin pursed his lips. "Juliette isn't important, Artemis, the _result_ of her actions is. When the two of them took that love potion, it altered the magic in their blood in ways we can't even comprehend. It created a connection between them that was much stronger than Juliette had ever intended, and it manifested in strange and frequently painful ways."

A stony silence fell over the three of us, and only the sound of Harry straightening on the spot disturbed the silence.

"Such as?" I finally plucked up the courage to ask.

Lupin grimaced. "Such as magical tattoos."


	19. Eighteen: Dangerous Chemistry

"This is stupid," I spat, pacing half the length of the hospital wing anxiously. Harry said nothing, staring at a spot on the floor with unseeing eyes and a pale face. By the side of the bed, Lupin watched me with a troubled expression. "I am _not_ in love with Harry Potter."

"I never said you were," Lupin replied softly.

"Yes you did!" I argued. "All that with that dead girl and the Muggle boy!" Harry opened his mouth to comment on my less than accurate reference, but fell silent when I shot him a murderous look. "Just because some magic tattoo appears on my arm doesn't mean I'm-" I cut off, fuming and completely unable to say anything else.

Pursing his lips, Lupin pushed himself to his feet and stepped around the bed, taking me by the shoulders and forcing me to look at him. "Listen to me, Artemis. No one is suggesting there is anything going on between you and Harry. Not every couple in your situation feel the same effects as Juliette and her husband did. I once heard that my great-great-great grandmother's sister actually killed the man who triggered that tattoo."

That just made me more angry. Considering this had all be set off by the idea of my father murdering Harry, the indication that I might be capable of the same thing made my blood boil. Glowering, I pushed Lupin back and straightened out.

"What do these tattoos actually do, anyway?" Harry interrupted, scanning my expression worriedly.

Lupin considered him for a moment. "To you, not much. After all, it was Artemis's bloodline that carried the curse. Unfortunately, you just bear the burden of the side-effects."

"Oh brilliant," I snarled. "There are side-effects _for_ the side-effects. This just gets better!"

"Artemis, calm down," Lupin instructed with a scowl. "Working yourself up will only make recovery harder, for the both of you. Now listen to me, because we've been talking about this for too long. No one outside this room, other than Dumbledore, can ever know about this, understand me?" My anger subsiding under the pressure, Harry and I exchanged an awkward look. Lupin's eyes narrowed. "What?"

"We told Ron and Hermione," Harry grimaced.

Lupin pursed his lips. "Very well. An unwise decision, but one that's entirely up to you."

"Hey, they're our best friends!" I exclaimed angrily.

"Exactly!" Lupin scowled. "The very people who will be expected to know these things. Assuming they could stand up under torture, would you be happy if they had to endure that for you?" Neither of us answered, and again, Lupin's expression softened. "I'm sorry, but you need to be aware of the gravity of this situation. Ancestors of ours have suffered terrible fates for carrying this curse."

"Which does what?" I grumbled before I could lose all strength, slumping back down onto the edge of the bed beside Harry. He snuffled awkwardly, but didn't move away.

"It affects the magic in your blood," Lupin told me. "In a way, it strengthens it considerably. Eventually, you'll find that you can do certain magic without ever having heard or learnt about it. Occulmency, protecting the mind from invasion, is a standard one for witches and wizards in the family to pick up. You'll also find that you may be able to use a limited amount of magic without a wand, and while using a wand, any magic you do use is significantly amplified."

Harry and I blinked in surprise. "You're telling us she'll be one of the strongest witches to walk the _planet?"_ he gawped.

Lupin's expression flinched slightly. "Eventually, yes. Since this magic is intrinsically linked to her body and emotions, it's only logical that it starts to take it's hold during her teenage years. By the time she's sixteen, it should have finished."

"Should?" I shuddered. He nodded once. "And what about you? If this is being passed on from my mother, then aren't you the same?"

Lupin's face fell. "Not exactly."

I hesitated a moment. "Why not?"

"I . . . had an accident as a child," he explained slowly, and I got the feeling he wasn't sharing the whole story. "It added another complication. I was extremely lucky that the changes you are experiencing never took hold because of it."

"Okay," I said slowly. "So . . . what happens next?"

He pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Nothing," he sighed. "Not this year, at least. It's just damage limitation until you're a little older, I'm afraid. Keep the locket, just make sure to hide it beneath your shirt. I don't want people asking questions. Next year . . . well, we'll sort that when we get there."

I frowned, dropping my gaze. "So you're planning on being here next year then?"

Another awkward silence descended over us, and Harry shifted beside me. Muttering something under his breath, Lupin stepped closer and took my chin in his hand, forcing me to meet his gaze. "I'm sorry for not meeting you sooner," he said sincerely. "I should have been there, and if I could have stopped Sirius leaving you with the Williams, you'd have never left the family in the first place. But he did, and you were safer there than you were being associated with my family. Everything's different now."

Pulling myself away, I nodded but I could tell he didn't believe me. "What if Black finds us?"

Lupin's face darkened. "So long as you stay inside the castle when it's dark and _follow the rules_, we shouldn't have a problem. If you think you see anything or hear anything, come to me or Dumbledore immediately. That goes for you as well, Harry. Understand?" We both nodded and Lupin smiled tightly, satisfied with our answers. "Now I suggest the two of you get some rest and sleep off the fever. Lessons start first thing tomorrow morning, and if I'm not mistaken, Oliver Wood has a rather tough Quidditch schedule for the two of you." Grimacing once, he turned and marched out of the hospital wing without once looking back.

Harry and I sat in silence for a moment, staring after Lupin. I wasn't entirely sure what all of these revelations meant for the two of us, but I found that as angry as I was that it had taken this long to get the truth, I felt relieved to not be constantly hounded by the uncertainty of it all.

Shaking himself, Harry let out a low whistle. "That was . . ."

"Yeah," I nodded, clearing my throat. Taking a deep breath, I pushed myself to my feet and stretched out. "Lupin was right, we should rest."

Harry nodded, jumping off the bed and heading toward his own. "Hey, Arty?"

"Um?"

"About what Lupin said about that girl, Juliette-"

I flinched, pulling the sheets back and shaking my head. "Forget it, Harry," I warned.

"Back near the library-"

"I said forget it!" I scowled. Harry fell silent. "I'm serious, Harry, I don't want to talk about this."

"So that's it?" he frowned.

"Do _you_ want to have this conversation?" I snapped, throwing myself onto the bed with folded arms.

Harry hesitated. "You're my best friend, Arty."

"Exactly," I sighed. "So just . . . leave it."

After a moments silence, Harry nodded. "Goodnight, Arty." Grimacing, he leant forward and pulled the divider between us, and I felt myself slump in my place. It was nights like this that made me wonder if life was ever going to get any easier, but I slid down and cuddled into the pillows, closing my eyes and letting myself forget about the enormous weight Lupin had just dropped onto my shoulders.

Things didn't get much better the next day. Madam Pomfrey assessed me and Harry before breakfast and declared the two of us back to full health, though insisted on explaining to Harry and me that she vividly remembered working through similar problems with Selena Lupin and Sirius Black, and that she'd take our secret to the grave. Honestly, I'd never seen her so sincere and considerate before, and it worried me greatly.

"Harry," I started cautiously as the two of us left the hospital wing.

"Um?"

"How dangerous do you think all of this is?" I grimaced. He frowned, glancing at me questioningly. "Think about it, Lupin and Dumbledore know, and that can't be avoided. Dumbledore is more than capable of looking after himself, and Lupin's my Uncle. But what about Hermione and Ron? And Madam Pomfrey? What if they get hurt because they know about us?"

Harry didn't answer immediately, and when he did, it wasn't with a solution. "I know how you feel," he admitted quietly. "Black must know too, and if he was a Voldemort supporter, that complicates things. A _lot."_

"And this is before we start talking about how many people knew about Selena and what will happen if they find out I'm her daughter," I added dejectedly. But a thought suddenly occurred to me, and I pulled Harry to a halt, glancing both ways down the corridor to make sure no one else was in earshot. "Look, there's a high chance quite a few people will find out who I am."

"Arty-"

"No, Harry, just listen to me," I interrupted. "I want you to promise that no matter who comes looking for me, you won't ever let anyone see that tattoo."

His eyes flashed angrily and my shoulders tensed, ready for the inevitable argument. "If someone finds you that means you're in trouble," Harry snapped. "You think I'm just going to sit in the corner and keep to myself?"

"No, but I want you to," I sighed. "If Lupin's right, then in a year or so, I'll be able to defend myself well enough to get through most situations. The only thing that bothers me is someone trying to use you against me as leverage. As tough as it is for you to hear, whatever this connection is, it makes you the weak link here."

"Thanks for that," he scowled. "That's really comforting."

"It's honest, Harry!" I persisted. "And since Black is after you right now, I think you'll agree that we don't have time to be anything other than blunt. I'm not saying you can't look after yourself, Harry. I _know_ you can, I've seen you do it! You've stood against Voldemort and won, three times! But we have no idea what sort of people are going to come looking for me, and I need you to trust me to deal with it. I'm not telling you to leave or forget about it all, I just need to know what we're getting into. Okay?"

He glowered, pursing his lips thoughtfully. "If someone hurts you, I won't just stand by and watch. The same goes for Hermione and Ron if anything ever _does_ happen to them because of us."

I took a deep breath. "You're my best friend," I said carefully. "No one will get suspicious about you trying to help me, but people are starting to notice something is different between us and now we know what's going on, we need it to stop. Now."

"Which means?" he questioned coolly.

"That means no more over protective behaviour the moment something goes wrong," I frowned. "No more refusing to leave the hospital wing when one of us is ill and no more sulking in public when we argue. We have to try and go back to how things were last year, or as close as we can get without drawing suspicion."

"I'm not doing anything drastic," he told me sternly. "But . . . maybe you're right. Less suspicion would probably be good." He didn't look convinced, but suitably confused. The truth was, no matter what I said, I was in trouble here. Deep trouble, and eventually, someone would find me. All it would take is for the wrong person to catch wind of Sirius Black's daughter being at Hogwarts and they'd be onto me. But no one knew Harry had triggered this . . . connection, whatever it was. That meant that so long as his tattoo was kept out of sight and so long as we were careful, he was safe.

Unfortunately, he was still Harry Potter. That meant danger and trouble would always find him, and he didn't need my help to attract it. Take Black, for instance. Apparently, my father was after Harry because he believed he was the only thing standing in the way of Voldemort returning. It had nothing to do with him being connected to me in any way. Neither did the fact Voldemort had been after him the first place. All of this just added issues to avoid drawing suspicion, because as easily as Harry could cause people to look twice by helping me, so could I by helping him. I'd already done plenty of that for two years, and I wasn't entirely sure I would be able to take my own advice and back off if he was ever in trouble.

All of these scenarios were just theories of course, so I tried my best to push them to the back of my mind and concentrate on the start of term again. Luckily, it was made easier by the little dramas that seemed to rule my day-to-day life. Within a week of starting lessons, Harry had stopped talking to Hermione altogether, and Ron wasn't best pleased with her either. I hadn't been there at the time, but apparently, Hermione had insisted that Sirius Black had sent Harry the Firebolt and that it might be cursed. When Harry and Ron had ignored her, she'd gone to McGonagall, who'd immediately confiscated it. Honestly, I was a little relieved. Not that I ever dared to tell Harry that.

"I was only doing it for him," Hermione insisted hotly one Saturday morning a few weeks later. "You'd think the world had ended the way they're going on about it!"

"You know how much Quidditch means to them," I replied with a grimace. "And everyone was so sure we could win this year with Harry and a Firebolt. I mean, he's a great Seeker at the best of times, but do you have any idea how fast those Firebolts are?"

"Don't," she groaned, letting her forehead drop into the book she was reading. "You sound like Ron!"

"Hermione, seriously, I'm glad you told McGonagall," I insisted. "I never thought for a minute Black could have sent that and after you mentioned it, I'd been trying to work up to making Harry hand it over, without being killed by Wood. Besides, he'll get it back."

She glanced up, a little hopeful. "When's your first match?"

I winced. "This weekend." Her face fell and she dropped it back into the book with a slight groan. "At least this match is just against Ravenclaw! And Wood's been training us so hard, I could run through the game plan in my sleep."

"But I'm assuming the plan doesn't involve letting Harry ride a school broom," Hermione murmured darkly.

"Better than a cursed one," I pointed out with a shrug and she sighed heavily, pushing herself upright and rubbing her eyes.

Luckily, that Friday afternoon, McGonagall paid a rare visit to the Gryffindor Tower. "Here you are, Potter," she announced, in the middle of a crowded common room. "Your broomstick."

Harry and Ron sat there, staring at it open-mouthed without moving an inch. Most of the kids in the common room had turned to see why the Head of Gryffindor was here, and were now muttering excitedly at the sight of the Firebolt. In the background, I could see Oliver Wood's stunned expression and wondered if he might actually faint.

"Erm, thanks Professor," I supplied with a grateful smile when Harry didn't make a move to take it. McGonagall sighed heavily, handing me the Firebolt with a roll of her eyes. "I'll let him know when he wakes up."

There were a few sniggers around the room, and Harry shook himself abruptly, blinking a few more times than necessary as he pushed himself to his feet and took the broomstick off me. "Thanks, Professor," he said, a little weakly.

McGonagall eyed him for a moment. "You have a match tomorrow, Potter."

"Yes, Professor," he nodded.

There was a sparkle in her eyes when she patted his shoulder with a small smile. "Then I suggest you take it out and get used to the handling," she told him quietly. "Before it gets dark." With that, she spun on her heel and let herself out of the room, leaving a lot of students staring after her in surprise.

Ron jumped to his feet, smiling widely. "Great! Do you mind if I have a shot after you?"

"Us too!" the Weasley twins insisted from the corner.

"Yeah, and me!" Dean Thomas called.

"Me too!" Katie Bell added.

"Whoa, whoa, hold on a minute," Wood's stern voice came as he strode forward with a frown. "We have a match tomorrow. Potter needs to use all the time he has to get _himself_ adjusted to it. If he feels like letting the rest of you loose with it, that can wait until after the match."

Their faces fell, but Harry looked thoroughly relieved. Grinning from ear to ear, he turned to Ron and me with the broomstick clutched tightly in his hands. "You coming?" he asked.

Ron nodded enthusiastically, but I hesitated, glancing outside. It wouldn't be long before it started to turn dark, and with the threat of Black still being at large, I wanted nothing more than to stuff my wand into my pocket and follow him out there. But then I remembered we were supposed to be keeping our distance, and last year, I wouldn't have been caught dead on a Quidditch pitch unless absolutely necessary.

"I'll pass," I grimaced. "But enjoy yourself."

Harry's smile wavered a fraction, but he caught it and nodded, turning to leave with Ron in toe. But it seemed like Wood had other ideas. "Actually, Artemis, I want you to go with him," he instructed and my shoulders sagged.

"Why?" I groaned.

"To test him," he insisted. "He's been practising on a school broom so you have to put him through his paces. The others wouldn't go half as hard on him as you will. I'd be more than willing to do it, but if I don't finish this essay before my detention with Snape, he isn't going to let me play tomorrow."

I glanced from Wood to Harry uncertainly. I knew Wood was desperate to win this year, and when I met Harry's gaze, he just shrugged a shoulder at me. "Fine," I conceded. "Let me grab my broom."

So we spent the rest of the afternoon on the Quidditch pitch, and I hated myself for enjoying it so much. I'd made a point of being a very reluctant player last year, and it was getting harder to keep myself separated, just when it became important that I did that very thing. Hagrid came down when he spotted us out, scolding us for being out without supervision. But instead of forcing us back inside, he decided to stay on the ground with Ron while Harry and I trained.

The Firebolt easily outstripped my Nimbus Two Thousand, which was incidentally the only model of broomstick Harry wanted to compare it to, having had the same one for the past two years. Using a large bag of golf balls Wood had supplied, I spent a long time ducking and diving and throwing them in every direction to make sure Harry could catch them before they landed. Of course, he didn't miss one, not that he didn't find something to complain about.

"God, you're harder to train with than Wood is!" he yelled as he caught the last one.

"That's why I'm here!" I reminded him with a smug smirk.

It was incredibly late by the time we'd finished, and dark had long since fell over the grounds, which made me feel a rush of gratitude toward Wood for making me come out. If I'd stayed in the common room while Harry was out here, I'd have only worked myself up. The more I thought about what Lupin had told me, the more paranoid I became. The problem was, I couldn't _stop_ thinking about it.

"We've got to win that match tomorrow," Harry insisted as we entered the common room, tired and cold but pleased with the night's work.

"You can't lose with that Firebolt," Ron agreed with a grin. "The Ravenclaws aren't going to know what's hit them!"

"Just a shame we couldn't test it on the Slytherins first," I scoffed, and the two of them nodded their agreement. Yawning widely, I stretched out and took a deep breath. "Well, I'm off to bed. Guess I'll see you tomorrow. Big day and everything."

Harry snorted darkly. "Wood will kill us if we don't win this. We need it if we're going to win the Cup."

"No pressure then, Harry," I sighed.


	20. Nineteen: Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw

The next morning was tense. Horribly so. The entire room seemed to realise how desperate Gryffindor was for the win today, and the Slytherins were taking full advantage of it. Their irritating, under-hand comments were starting to get the better of the team as we settled for breakfast at the Gryffindor table, so much so that even the Ravenclaw team were getting annoyed.

My cousins Will and Liam, who were both on the Ravenclaw team, Will as the Keeper and Liam as a Chaser, had gone as far as sitting down beside us at our table, glowering at Malfoy and his group with locked jaws. "Do they really think this is going to help their chances?" Will snapped irritably.

"Apparently," I shrugged with a heavy sigh. "On the other hand, it's turning the entire school against them."

"It was never going to take much of a push, Arty," Liam scoffed, helping himself to Harry's toast with a grin. I pulled a face, nodding my agreement as the Ravenclaw Captain, Davis, approached the table.

"Fraternising with the enemy, boys?" he smirked, clapping Will and Liam on the shoulders.

"Anything to annoy the Slytherin side, Davis," Will said without hesitation, lifting his goblet up and draining it of pumpkin juice. "Besides, I have to side with Gryffindor. Half of my family belong to this House."

Davis shrugged once. "Can't blame you," he admitted. "The Slytherins have been annoying the whole school all morning."

"I might have a solution for that," I scowled through gritted teeth as Malfoy and his group roared with a nasty cackle.

"No getting yourself banned, Williams!" Wood suddenly barked, and the gathered crowd laughed at him.

"Ignore them," Davis insisted. "They're only worried about their chances of winning the Cup. Anyway, good luck today guys. We won't go easy on you, but . . . well, if you _do_ win-" Will and Liam snorted, winking very deliberately in my direction. Davis sighed. "If you win, promise me you'll flatten the Slytherins next?"

The Gryffindor team murmured their agreement, and Fred actually leapt on top of his seat, placing one hand on his chest with a solemn expression. "It would be our honour," he replied dramatically, bowing down low as everyone shook with laughter.

Davis smiled. "Get through this match, and I'll hold you to that, Weasley."

"And on the off chance we don't, I'll happily help you get the Cup," I murmured at Will and Liam. "Just don't tell Wood, he's . . . well, he's pretty determined." They laughed at me, robbing another few slices of toast from my plate before climbing to their feet and moving to join their team.

I almost felt sorry for Ravenclaw after that. It wasn't until we stepped out onto the pitch to the thunderous chorus of _'POTTER! POTTER!'_ from the Gryffindor house that the Ravenclaws realised Harry was riding a Firebolt. Their Seeker, a girl called Cho Chang, looked a little pale when she noticed it.

But there was no time for them to wallow in self-pity. Before I could even register most of their surprised looks, Madam Hooch was blowing the whistle and the game had started. "Ravenclaw off to a good start," Lee Jordan's reluctant commentary came. It wasn't hard to tell which house he belonged to. Whenever anything went against Gryffindor, he suddenly became incredibly disheartened.

Luckily for him, it didn't stay in Ravenclaws favour for long. Katie Bell and I were on the Chaser's tail as Fred hurtled a Bludger our way. I barely caught the sound of the gasp from the Ravenclaw player when the Quaffle dropped from his grasp and I dived, scooping it into my arms with a practised grace. "Clean pick-up for Williams!" Jordan was now saying, remarkably excited at such a simple move. "Or Artemis, should I say, since we have three Williams on the pitch today! Uh-oh, here comes the second Bludger!"

Gritting my teeth, I swerved and launched the Quaffle at Katie, just in time to somersault out of the Bludger's path. The moment I'd righted myself, I bolted forward, weaving through the players at breakneck speed until I'd caught up with Katie and Angela.

"And here we go!" Lee Jordan exclaimed. "Despite the disaster of the last game, Gryffindor obviously haven't lost their touch. Everyone will remember the amazing lead they'd built up in front of Hufflepuff – a hundred points to none – before the Dementors ruined it. But now look! Katie Bell dives . . . oh God, she's dropped it . . . no, there's the pick-up from Angela Johnson . . . clean pass to Artemis Williams – back to Bell – back to Johnson – and she scores! Ten points to Gryffindor!"

I grinned, circling the posts and re-joining the match with a nod in Angela's direction. Something had changed since last year between the three of us, I noticed. Last year, we were good, but we weren't as in synch as we were now. This year, we'd barely slipped up once. Training was longer and harder, but somehow easier, and Katie and Angela somehow seemed to be able to anticipate my moves before they saw it, just as I could theirs. With that, the Weasleys, Wood and Harry, the match was in the bag.

And everyone knew it. By the halfway point, Gryffindor were leading sixty to twenty, and we were still pushing ahead. The problem was, Ravenclaws were buying time for their Seeker. Chang was no closer to finding the Snitch as I was, but I could tell Harry had had a few near misses. His eyes were narrowed as he hovered at the side of the pitch and his jaw was locked.

"Keep hitting Bludgers at him!" George called as he alerted the course of one heading for us. "He keeps having to veer off course!"

"Then mark him!" I called. "Leave Fred to deal with us, and we'll manage." He shot me a doubtful look, but I took a deep breath and halted the conversation long enough to dive at a Ravenclaw Chaser. Caught by surprise, he yelped loudly and swerved, losing grip of the Quaffle. Catching it easily, I launched it through the air at Angela.

"Cheers!" she laughed loudly, swerving around another Bludger and shooting back down the pitch with the Ravenclaw Chaser close on her tail.

"Tell Wood!" I yelled back at George, and he nodded, rushing to confer with Wood, one eye still on the match. I hesitated, torn between helping Katie and Angela and hearing the verdict.

"Looks like Artemis Williams is being held up," Jordan's voice came slowly over the commentary. "Technical problems wouldn't be good right now, don't want a repeat of last time. But here comes Bell and Johnson closing in . . ."

Then George gave me a nod and I knew it had been cleared. Setting my expression, I bolted down the pitch, swerving past another Bludger that missed by an inch and tearing past a confused Harry.

"Bell dives past the Ravenclaw defence," Jordan was saying. "Johnson's there for support but . . . No, Bell drops it! Picked up by Liam Williams-" Steeling myself, I bolted straight toward the defence and plunged my palm into the Quaffle hard enough to knock it from Liam's grasp before he even knew what was happening. "And there's his cousin Artemis out of nowhere with the recovery!" Jordan yelled and the Gryffindor fans roared in excitement. But we barely noticed. Instead, Angela bolted for Quaffle with the other two Chasers on her tail. "Now Johnson with the pick-up . . . passes to Bell . . . back to Williams . . . and she scores! Gryffindor lead seventy to twenty! But wait a minute . . . ARTEMIS WATCH OUT FOR THAT BLUDGER!"

I gasped and dived, but the unseen Bludger slammed into my shoulder with such force my broom actually rolled sideways. Agonising pain shot through my left arm and I could almost feel every bone in my arm shatter. The crowd gasped and winced, unable to hear the yelp and string of curses blurting from my mouth.

"Gryffindor look like they're down a Chaser," Jordan groaned. Then the crowd drew breath collectively and I blinked away the pain long enough to see Harry dive for the ground, closely followed by Cho Chang. "And Potter dives, has he seen the Snitch?"

The moment the question had been asked, Harry alerted his course, pulling the Firebolt into a steep climb and leaving Chang confused and stalling a metre off the ground. "Great move from Potter!" Jordan roared with laughter. "He diverts Chang to the ground and . . . here we go! Look at the speed of that Firebolt!" The Gryffindors exploded into a mixture of cheers and laughter and the next second – "POTTER'S GOT IT!" Jordan roared. "POTTER CATCHES THE SNITCH AND GRYFFINDOR WIN TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY TO TWENTY!"

"Arty!" George's voice called as I hit the ground, stumbling slightly. He landed in front of me as the crowd burst into celebration, catching my uninjured arm to steady me. I grimaced gratefully, but he only scowled back at me. "I knew I should have ignored you!"

I managed a weak chuckle. "We won, didn't we?"

"When I said Wood would rather we died than lost, I didn't think you'd take it literally," he sighed.

"I didn't," I argued, wincing as I took a step forward, watching the rest of the Gryffindor team land a little further back. "I just let my concentration slip for a moment, that's all."

"Well next time, don't."

"Artemis!" Katie and Angela called from ahead, rushing forward with worried frowns. "Hey, are you alright?" Katie asked.

"I'll be fine," I dismissed. "Just broken, I think."

"Just?" Harry frowned. "And who's idea was it for George to mark me instead of the Chasers?"

"Mine," I snapped back. "And it worked, didn't it? It isn't his fault, Harry, I wasn't paying attention." His lips pursed, but he said nothing as Madam Hooch pushed her way through the crowd to get to me.

"Hospital wing, Williams," she instructed sharply. "But all in all, good match. Shame I won't be able to say that for your next game." I wasn't entirely sure we were supposed to hear the last part, but she was right. Slytherin knew they couldn't compete with us on an even playing field; they couldn't have done it last year, let alone this year. So they'd play dirty. It was a match where I really couldn't afford to lose concentration.

The rest of the team headed to get changed after the match, and I managed to convince Harry to do the same while I went to get my arm checked out by Madam Pomfrey. Injuries were so frequent in Quidditch matches that a broken arm was no big deal, but I was incredibly grateful when Hermione and Ron turned up outside the Gryffindor changing rooms, their argument about the Firebolt completely forgotten.

"Where's Harry?" Hermione frowned disapprovingly.

"I told him to go back to the changing rooms," I winced, cradling my injured arm with my free hand. "He's already on edge, I don't need him hanging around and attracting more attention. Besides, it's just a broken arm. She'll give me some vile potion, bandage it and I'll be fine by tomorrow morning."

Even Madam Pomfrey agreed that it was nothing severe. She did exactly as I said she would, and even discharged me that night. Most of the Gryffindors had gone to bed by the time I reached the common room, but Harry was sat in the armchair by the fire, watching the flames with a small frown and running his quill through his fingers thoughtfully.

"Hey," I smiled as I stepped inside.

He started at the sound of my voice, glancing at me in relief. "I didn't think Madam Pomfrey would let you out until tomorrow," he said and I shrugged my uninjured shoulder carefully.

"It's not too bad," I grimaced, indicating to my arm. "Should be fine by this time tomorrow. How about you? I'm sorry I was a little short with you on the pitch this morning."

"Forget it," he dismissed. "Saying I'm going to back off and actually doing it are two very different things and I'm beginning to wonder if it's possible." I pulled a face, shifting awkwardly as I sat down in the chair opposite. "I should probably tell you . . . Lupin agreed to teach me to cast the Patronus charm."

I raised an eyebrow. "Really? What's that?"

"Repels Dementors," he told me. "Lupin gave me a very long, technical description but I can't really remember most of it. But since we're surrounded by Dementors and I'm really bad around them, he agreed he'd teach me."

"Good," I nodded, ignoring the awkward shifting in my stomach. "When do you start?"

Harry pulled a face. "Already have. I just got back. I spoke with him after the match, I think I needed something to do, you know? He said we could start tonight, so I agreed. I'm going back the same time next week. And with everything else . . . couldn't hurt, right?"

There was a moments awkward silence, but I forced myself to take a ragged breath and smile as convincingly as possible. "Good," I repeated uncertainly, and I didn't miss the way Harry's eyebrows rose a little. Pursing my lips, I straightened slightly, eyeing his cautious expression. "Please don't get me wrong, I'm really pleased for you and I'm incredibly grateful that Lupin has agreed to do it. But . . . doesn't it feel weird to you, knowing that things like this are just going to get more frequent?"

"What do you mean?" he frowned. "I only asked him to help because of what happened on the train at the start of term."

"Yeah, but the fact that you thought about it helping you defend yourself because of me just shows that maybe we need it. We've already said that it's only a matter of time before someone comes looking for me and when they do-"

Harry held his hand up, sighing heavily. "We'll worry about that when it happens," he dismissed and immediately I made to argue. "Arty, seriously! You can't spend the rest of your life expecting the worst. Sure, the Patronus charm can't hurt, but that doesn't mean we have to spend hours learning every defensive spell backwards."

Taking a deep breath, I leant back in my chair thoughtfully. "I know I just . . . I can't shift the feeling that we need to be ready, that's all. Does that make me paranoid?"

He laughed. "After the last two years, that makes you _sane."_


	21. Twenty: Execution Orders

For the rest of the term, I told myself time and time again that I needed to relax. There was only going to be a limited time before the worst actually _did_ happen, and I had to make the most of the peace and quiet while I could. Still, with the threat of Black still at large and the growing frequency in the amount of times I was admitted into the hospital wing with some illness or other, it wasn't all that easy.

"Focus, Harry," Lupin frowned as I helped Harry back to his feet for the fourth time that night. We were stood in the middle of an empty classroom with dark quickly descending outside. On the opposite side of the room, a tatty trunk stood with its lid firmly shut. Looking at it, you wouldn't have known that inside, a Boggart sat waiting to attack Harry with another image of a Dementor.

After a few weeks of getting no closer to producing a full-bodied Patronus, Harry had insisted I accompany him to his lessons. None of us, not even Lupin, knew why this would help or even if it would, but I didn't argue. I did, however, make sure to stay well back when Lupin released the Boggart, terrified of seeing that blinding golden light again.

"This isn't working," Harry groaned irritably.

"That's the spirit, Harry," I grimaced. "Patience and hard-work always did come naturally, didn't they?" He shot me a cool look.

"Okay," Lupin sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm not sure that's helping, Artemis." I shrugged slightly. "But she is right, Harry. This is a very complex spell, I wouldn't expect you to produce a Patronus the first time you cast it. You have to focus on the happiest memory you have, make yourself feel like you did back then."

"Easier said than done," Harry scowled. "It isn't like I have a variety of them to choose from." I found myself exchanging a worried glance with Lupin, but I kept my mouth shut, taking a few steps back and perching myself on the edge of a desk. Harry took a deep breath, clutching his wand tightly and nodding in Lupin's direction. "I'm ready."

"Are you sure?" the teacher asked cautiously, eyeing his determined stance. Harry nodded again. "Okay then. Remember, keep your memory in mind." With a warning look in my direction, Lupin flicked his wand at the trunk and the lid flicked open.

We spent another two hours trying to get Harry to cast a Patronus, and though he managed to shield himself from the effects, I could tell he wasn't happy that he couldn't produce a full-bodied charm yet.

"It's going to take a while, Harry," Lupin told him time and time again. "You'll get there." Harry smiled tightly at him, not at all convinced. Still, the two of us scooped our bags off the floor and took a bar of chocolate each as we started toward the door.

"Hey, Professor?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"Why is it that your Patronus looks like a dog?"

Lupin's face fell as Harry and I turned to face him expectantly. A long, awkward pause before he shuffled on the spot and dropped his gaze. "That wasn't my Patronus."

"What?" Harry frowned. "How can it not have been? No one else in that compartment knows how to cast a Patronus! Who else could have cast it?"

Another awkward pause, and I went rigid when Lupin's eyes found mine. "Me?" I gawped with a nervous laugh. "How could _I _have cast a charm I'd never heard of before?" Silence met my question and as Lupin lifted an eyebrow in my direction, I felt my face straighten. "Oh. Right."

"You didn't mean to cast it, of course," my Uncle sighed heavily. "Actually, I was rather surprised you could do something so difficult so early. Most people never even attempt to cast magic like that in the first year."

"Comforting, thanks," I mumbled.

"Have you noticed that you're able to do anything else?" he asked, ignoring my comment.

"Once," I grimaced reluctantly. "The Quidditch match before Christmas. I'd left my wand in the changing rooms, but when I saw Harry falling, I reached back for it and it was there. I think that's why my arm started bleeding."

Lupin looked torn. "Well, I must say I'm impressed," he said quietly. "Not just the magic, but being able to keep it so quiet. I've been looking out for the two of you to slip up. When you didn't, I thought things were going quite well. I didn't realise you'd been covering it up so well."

"Neither did I," I admitted with a small shrug, though I couldn't help smiling a little. Knowing that we could hide it from Lupin, when he was actually looking for signs, was a huge relief. If he couldn't find anything, not a lot of other people would be able to either.

"Perhaps you should try not to do any magic by accident in future," Lupin continued. "I realise that you had very little control over it, but holding it back is essential until we can start to teach you to control it."

"Which will be . . .?" I trailed.

He smiled wryly. "Your next school year," he told me. "Either I or Professor Dumbledore will be giving you extra lessons."

"Oh," I blinked, glancing sideways at Harry. Private lessons with Dumbledore . . . that would certainly cause suspicion, wouldn't it?

"We'll sort the details later," Lupin told me. "Until then, the two of you should get back to the common room before it gets too late." The two of us nodded, turning toward the door again.

"Goodnight, Professor."

"Goodnight Harry, goodnight Artemis."

The next day, Hermione took full advantage of the Friday afternoon off to lecture me about the use of magic. We were sat in our usual spot under the large tree on the banks of the Black Lake, surrounded by books and sweets from Honeydukes. Since getting back into lessons after Christmas, the teachers had been piling homework on top of us in preparation for the exams at the end of term.

For the first time, however, Hermione was more than a little distracted from her work. "Lupin's right, Artemis," she was scolding as I slid a little further down the trunk of the tree, propping my Arithmancy book up on top of my names to block her from view. "Ignore me all you want, but the last thing either of you need is someone to see you casting impossible magic!"

"Or hearing you rant about it!" I snapped irritably. Her face straightened. "Hermione, believe it or not, I'm well aware of what's going on and I don't need you adding to the pressure. Now drop it, please!"

"If you're still taking too many risks," she insisted, and I pushed myself frowning, scowling across to her, but Harry clenched his hand around my wrist without looking up from his Quidditch book.

"Calm down, Arty," he told me quietly. "She's only worried."

"Well of course I am!" Hermione said in a shrill voice. "The two of you are in and out of the hospital wing so often lately, and it not like you didn't spend any time in there for the past two years!"

"Not much we can do about that," I frowned, sitting back and flicking through my Arithmancy book lazily. "Besides, don't you have exams to worry about?"

If anything, this just seemed to stress her out even more. "You do realise how little time we have?" she asked hysterically. "I have so much to do! There's Muggle Studies, Arithmancy, Astronomy, Care of Magical Creatures, Defence Against-"

"We get it, Hermione," Harry interrupted, still not lifting his gaze from his book.

She scowled at him. "And you think reading a book on Quidditch is going to help you?"

He shrugged. "We still have the Cup to win, Hermione."

"Try revising with _that_ on your mind," Ron scoffed, pulling a face at his Divination book. "Does this mean anything to you guys?" I scoffed, shaking my head at him with a blank look. Harry, the only one who actually did that lesson, ignored him entirely.

I groaned heavily, dropping my book and stretching out. "I can't stand anymore revision, if I don't know it now, I don't need it." Hermione's jaw dropped in horror, but I turned away and pushed myself to my feet. "Anyone fancy coming down to Hagrid's with me?"

"Definitely," Harry and Ron moaned, and the two of them shoved their text books back into their bags and moved to follow me. Mumbling under her breath about how little work we did, Hermione reluctantly did the same.

This late in the afternoon, most of the students had already headed into the castle before the feast. Clouds had gathered in the sky overhead, and thin streams of bright sunlight managed to break through, shining brightly down onto the ground. A cold breeze was beginning to rush through the grounds, and I found myself pulling my jacket closer around my body in an effort to shield myself from the window.

Outside Hagrid's hut, the Hippogriff Buckbeak had been chained to a tall post in the middle of the pumpkin patch. He was lay flat on the ground, obviously bored, and I knew instantly that something was wrong. Hagrid would never have left an animal like that, no matter how dangerous it was. He'd probably refuse to chain a dragon, let alone a Hippogriff. As we neared, Buckbeak lifted his head curiously, and before I could change my mind, I stepped closer, bending down low. Buckbeak almost immediately bowed his head back to me, and I smiled slightly, moving to pet him gently.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you," a droning voice came, and the four of us started.

Lucius Malfoy was stood beside the Minister of Magic outside of Hagrid's hut, with the man himself and Dumbledore. Both the Minister and Hagrid looked a little shaken, but Dumbledore was stood with his hands clasped in front of him and a small frown across his face. On the other hand, Lucius Malfoy looked rather smug.

Ignoring Malfoy, I knelt down beside Buckbeak and allowed the Hippogriff to nudge my hand affectionately. "Then it's a good job I'm not you, isn't it, Mr Malfoy?" I managed to answer in a fake polite tone.

Something in his expression flinched. "You shouldn't be allowing students near that beast, Dumbledore," he said shortly. "We wouldn't want Miss Williams to get hurt now, would we?"

I glowered as Buckbeak tensed beside me, obviously sensing something was wrong. With an indignant squawk, he laid his head across my legs protectively, eyeing Malfoy with his front claws dug into the ground, like he was ready to jump. "Then perhaps it is unwise to aggravate Buckbeak while she is sat beside him," Dumbledore replied calmly, shooting a quick warning look in our direction. Breathing deeply, I ran my hand down Buckbeak's neck and I felt him relax gradually as my fingers ran through his feathers gently.

"Come now, Malfoy," Fudge laughed nervously. "We should be heading back up to the castle."

"Um," Malfoy frowned, glancing between me, Harry, Ron and Hermione. His eyes lingering on Harry a second too long, he turned and started up toward the castle.

Fudge smiled nervously at me, his eyes unable to meet mine for too long. "It's probably best you don't stay near . . . err, Buckbeak, was it? The animal is dangerous, after all."

"Buckbeak isn't dangerous, Minister," I insisted, watching as the Hippogriff's eyes closed lazily as I stroked him. "He's the same as any animal, you just have to know what you're doing." Hagrid smiled sadly at me from behind the Minister, and Dumbledore's eyes shone, but Fudge just shook his head.

"Well, you don't want to be staying out too late," he told us, moving to follow Malfoy. "There's a killer out there, you know."

"Not likely to forget," I grumbled sourly as he walked away. "What was that all about?"

Dumbledore cast a glance back at Hagrid before sighing heavily. "Perhaps I should leave you to discuss that with Hagrid," he replied gently. "However, I would ask you to allow Hagrid to accompany you back up to the castle. It is unwise to be wandering the grounds in the dark."

"Sure," Harry nodded, shooting me a warning look as Dumbledore smiled, turning away from us and starting up toward the castle.

"So what's going on?" Ron demanded the moment Dumbledore was out of earshot. "What was Malfoy so smug about?"

"He hasn't got you fired, has he?" Hermione gasped. "For what happened to Draco at the start of the year?"

Hagrid shook his head furiously. "Nah, Dumbledore made sure of that. The four of you should come in, it's not a good idea to hang around outside." Reluctantly, I shifted Buckbeak's head from my lap gently, and the Hippogriff squawked again, nudging my fingertips gently. Smiling, I ran my hand through his feathers one last time before pushing myself slowly to my feet.

Inside Hagrid's hut, Hagrid, Harry, Ron and Hermione had already settled around the large, circular table in the corner. Behind them, a fire roared comfortingly, a black kettle hanging over it cautiously.

"So," I sighed heavily, dragging myself to the chair between Ron and Hermione and dropping into it. "Care to explain?"

Hagrid sniffed loudly, his hands shaking as the kettle began to whistle over the fire. Smiling gently, Hermione pushed herself upright and moved to take it off the fire, busying herself making the tea. "Draco ran crying to his father after the accident, didn't he?" Hagrid mumbled as he watched Hermione trotting around the kitchen.

"Not surprising," Ron shrugged, receiving a jab in the side from Harry's elbow. "What?"

"What happened?" Harry questioned.

"His Dad ran to the Ministry, and you can imagine what happened then," Hagrid snorted sourly. "Got passed to a committee and they talked a lot about how dangerous Buckbeak was, and how he had it in for Malfoy."

"Anyone with at least one functioning brain cell has it in for Malfoy," I groaned, and Hagrid managed a small smile in my direction. "What did the committee decide?"

I immediately wished I hadn't asked. The moment the words were out of my mouth, Hagrid burst into uncontrollable tears that made me, Harry and Ron leap back in surprise. "They're killing him!" he wailed and my stomach dropped through the ground. "He's been sentenced to death!"

"Oh Hagrid!" Hermione breathed with glistening eyes, setting the tea on the table and doing her best to wrap him in a hug. The rest of us exchanged awkward looks, none of us sure of what to say or do next.

All I could think was that a perfectly innocent creature was being sentenced to death, and Black was still wandering around unchecked.


End file.
